University of Calgary
Department of Economics
Do Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Raise High-Tech Exports to the Developing World?
by Ivus, Olena
Despite over 20 years of debate, the TRIPs agreement remains very contentious. This paper evaluates the impact of strengthening intellectual property rights (IPRs) in developing countries on developed countries' exports over the 1962-2000 period. Colonial origin is used to isolate exogenous variation in IPRs. The impact is then identified by examining the cross-industry difference in sensitivity to IPRs. I find that the increase in IPRs made in response to the TRIPs agreement added about $50 billion (1994 US dollars) to the annual value of developed countries' exports in IPR-sensitive industries. The increase in the value of exports was driven by a quantity, rather than a price, increase.
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Despite over 20 years of debate, the TRIPs agreement remains very contentious. This paper evaluates the impact of strengthening intellectual property rights (IPRs) in developing countries on developed countries' exports over the 1962-2000 period. Colonial origin is used to isolate exogenous variation in IPRs. The impact is then identified by examining the cross-industry difference in sensitivity to IPRs. I find that the increase in IPRs made in response to the TRIPs agreement added about $50 billion (1994 US dollars) to the annual value of developed countries' exports in IPR-sensitive industries. The increase in the value of exports was driven by a quantity, rather than a price, increase.
Download Paper
View this paper on RePEc
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