nep-ipr 2026-03-16 papers

on Intellectual Property Rights

Issue of 2026–03–16
three papers chosen by
Giovanni Battista Ramello, Università di Turino

Human-Capital Shocks and Innovation: Evidence from Britain’s Lost Generation By Luca Repetto; Davide Cipullo; Edward Pinchbeck; Jan Bietenbeck
Induced Innovation in Critical Mineral Saving Technologies By Andrea Bastianin; Paolo Castelnovo; Federico Fabio Frattini; Francesco Vona
The Price Elasticity of Demand and Celebrity Brands By Samuel Jordan-Wood

Human-Capital Shocks and Innovation: Evidence from Britain’s Lost Generation

By:	Luca Repetto; Davide Cipullo; Edward Pinchbeck; Jan Bietenbeck
Abstract:	This paper studies how World War I mortality shocks to British communities affected long-run innovation. Linking parish-level military deaths to universal patent data (1895–1979) and inventor records, we compare high- and low-mortality areas. A 10 percent increase in deaths reduces the probability that a parish produces any patent by 0.09–0.12 percentage points and the probability that a parish produces a breakthrough patent by three times as much. Mortality depresses both the entry of new inventors and the productivity of established ones, particularly in frontier and technologically complex fields. Mobility, collaboration, and stronger local innovation ecosystems mitigate these effects, albeit only partially.
Keywords:	World War, innovation, human capital, patents, lost generation
JEL:	D74 O15 O31
Date:	2026
URL:	https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12529

Induced Innovation in Critical Mineral Saving Technologies

By:	Andrea Bastianin (Department of Economics, Management, and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Paolo Castelnovo (Department of Economics, University of Insubria and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Federico Fabio Frattini (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Francesco Vona (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)
Abstract:	This paper develops a novel text-based approach to identify CRM-saving innovation using patent data and studies how mineral price signals shape the direction of technological change. Using patent data from 1978–2020, we distinguish technologies that rely on CRMs from those that explicitly aim to reduce their use through efficiency improvements, substitution, or recycling. We provide evidence consistent with the induced-innovation hypothesis: higher mineral prices reallocate inventive effort toward CRM-saving technologies, while having little effect on CRM-reliant innovation. The response strengthens over time and is especially pronounced for battery minerals and rare earth elements. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and are reinforced by complementary identification strategies, including a falsification test and the use of plausibly exogenous supply-side price variation.
Keywords:	Energy Transition, Critical Raw materials, Patents
JEL:	C55 O31 O33 Q55 L72
Date:	2026–01
URL:	https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2026.05

The Price Elasticity of Demand and Celebrity Brands

By:	Samuel Jordan-Wood
Abstract:	What is the price elasticity of demand, what factors can affect it, and how might influencers be using it to their benefit?
Date:	2024–06–26
URL:	https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:l00100:102731

This nep-ipr issue is ©2026 by Giovanni Battista Ramello. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.

General information on the NEP project can be found at https://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.

NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the Griffith Business School of Griffith University in Australia.