|
on Intellectual Property Rights |
| By: | Kartiki Verma (Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi); Sunil Kanwar (Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of the strengthening of intellectual property rights (IPR) on industry-level outcomes such as sales, innovation, and profitability in India, for the period 1990-2020. We first construct a novel industry-specific IPR implementation index that reflects de facto enforcement across 27 two-digit industries. Industry outcomes are then modelled using industry data at the two-digit level. The empirical results reveal significant heterogeneity in the effects of IPR regimes. Stronger IPR protection disproportionately benefits firms with higher R&D intensity, amplifying both R&D investment and profitability, with robustness checks confirming consistency across alternative specifications. However, the gains from IPR protection are less pronounced for firms heavily engaged in innovation. This interaction may also reflect a strategic shift in firm behavior rather than a decline in performance. IPR reform positively affect R&D and profitability, particularly in pharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing. The strengthening of IPR is a powerful driver of performance when paired with internal innovation capacity, highlighting the critical role of absorptive capacity |
| Keywords: | Intellectual property rights, enforcement, de facto index, industry JEL codes: O34, C43, K11, L16 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cde:cdewps:360 |
| By: | Antonin Bergeaud; Ruveyda Nur Gozen; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | We introduce a methodology to measure cross-country trends in innovation capability - "technological trajectories" and implement this on a new rich dataset covering patents between 1836 and 2016 across multiple countries. Intuitively, trajectories are revealed by a country's sustained increases in patenting across multiple patent offices. We first describe the data patterns, showing the relative decline of the UK, and the rise first of the US and Germany, and then later of Japan and China. We then econometrically estimate trajectories on (i) the post-1902 period for France, Germany, Japan, the UK and US, and (ii) the post-1960 period for a wider sample of 40 countries. Our trajectories are strongly positively correlated with Total Factor Productivity growth, and also (but less strongly) associated with the growth of labour productivity and capital intensity. We show that future trajectories are predicted by a country’s initial levels of R&D, education and defence spending, classic drivers of innovation in modern growth theory. |
| Keywords: | patents, technical progress, economic history, innovation |
| Date: | 2026–01–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2146 |