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on Intellectual Property Rights |
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Issue of 2023‒09‒18
three papers chosen by Giovanni Ramello, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” |
| By: | Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm |
| Abstract: | The Trade-Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organization has granted major flexibilities to least developed countries (LDCs). One of these flexibilities is the exemption from the implementation of the majority of the provisions of this Agreement over a certain period (referred to as "TRIPS Waiver"), so as to help LDCs create a viable technological base. The present article has investigated whether the TRIPS Waiver was instrumental in expanding LDCs' technological base measured by their total factor productivity level. The analysis has used 14 LDCs (based on available data) and two different control groups, over the period from 1981 to 2020. It has revealed that the TRIPS Waiver helped LDCs expand their technological base, in particular for LDCs that had very weak technological bases. In addition, this positive technological base effect of the TRIPS Waiver was larger in LDCs that implemented weaker intellectual property laws, as well as those that endeavour to relatively diversify their export products, and improve the quality of export products in a context of a greater export product diversification. |
| Keywords: | Least developed countries, TRIPS Waiver, World Trade Organization |
| JEL: | F13 O34 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:275666&r=ipr |
| By: | Yael Hochberg; Ali Kakhbod; Peiyao Li; Kunal Sachdeva |
| Abstract: | Implementing a state-of-the-art machine learning technique for causal identification from text data (C-TEXT), we document that patents authored by female inventors are under-cited relative to those authored by males. Relative to what the same patent would be predicted to receive had the lead inventor instead been male, patents with a female lead inventor receive 10% fewer citations. Patents with male lead inventors tend to undercite past patents with female lead inventors, while patent examiners of both genders appear to be more even-handed in the citations they add to patent applications. For female inventors, market-based measures of patent value load significantly on the citation counts that would be predicted by C-TEXT, but do not load significantly on actual forward citations. The under-recognition of female-authored patents likely has implications for the allocation of talent in the economy. |
| JEL: | C13 J16 J24 J71 O30 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31592&r=ipr |
| By: | Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm |
| Abstract: | This study has examined both the effect of Aid for Trade (AfT) flows on the total factor productivity (TFP) level, and the extent to which this effect depends on countries' strength of protection of patent rights. The analysis has used the fixed effects estimator the Method of Moments Quantile Regression approach over a panel dataset of 59 countries and the period from 2002 to 2019. It has established several findings. AfT flows are instrumental in improving productivity in recipient countries, with the largest effect arising from AfT flows for productive capacities. The positive productivity effect of total AfT flows is larger in countries with higher productivity levels. On average over the full sample, total AfT flows exert a larger positive effect on the TFP level in countries that have face higher trade costs, lower innovative output and weaker patent rights protection. Interestingly, increasing the real per capita research and development (R&D) expenditure and concurrently strengthening patent rights laws (to protect the returns on R&D expenditure) result in a larger positive effect of total AfT flows on productivity. In addition, countries with low productivity levels (i.e., those located in lower quantiles) and that increase R&D expenditure in the context of stronger patent rights laws, experience a positive and significant effect of total AfT flows (in particular AfT for productive capacities) on productivity. The magnitude of this positive effect is larger, the lower the quantile of the TFP distribution in which a country is located. These findings have important policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Aid for Trade flows, Intellectual Property Rights, R&D Expenditure, Total Factor Productivity |
| JEL: | F35 O34 O47 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:274650&r=ipr |