Matching Demand and Supply in a Weightless Economy: Market-Driven Creativity With and Without IPRs

Danny Quah ()

No 3317, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Many cultural products have the same non-rival nature as scientific knowledge. They therefore face identical difficulties in creation and dissemination. One traditional view says market failure is endemic – societies tolerate monopolistic inefficiency in intellectual property (IP) protection to incentivize the creation and distribution of intellectual assets. This Paper examines that trade-off in dynamic, representative agent general equilibrium, and characterizes socially efficient creativity. Markets for intellectual assets protected by IP rights can produce too much or too little innovation.

Keywords: cultural good; finitely expansible; innovation; intellectual asset; intellectual property; internet; IP valuation; IPR; knowledge product; MP3; non-rival; software (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D90 O14 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-ent and nep-net
Date: 2002-04
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