Innovation, Inequality and Intellectual Property Rights

Diana Weinhold () and Nair-Reichert, Usha

World Development, 2009, vol. 37, issue 5, pages 889-901

Abstract: Summary We examine whether income inequality explains innovation across countries. The mechanism could be twofold: first, a large middle class could have an impact on institutions, including intellectual property rights (IPRs), which could in turn affect innovation. Second, evidence from US economic history suggests direct linkages between middle class share and innovation via supply and demand effects. Using IVE to address endogeneity, we find that middle class share explains patterns of resident patenting, while non-resident patenting is driven more by exogenous factors and global integration. Our results illustrate an additional channel through which income inequality can impact long run growth.

Keywords: income; inequality; long; run; growth; intellectual; property; rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VC6 ... ba2dace8c04fea273ed0
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
Working Paper: Innovation, Inequality and Intellectual Property Rights (2005)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:5:p:889-901

Access Statistics for this article

World Development is edited by O. T. Coomes

More articles in World Development from Elsevier
Series data maintained by Heidi Boesdal ().