Patents and Research Investments: Assessing the Empirical Evidence

Eric Budish, Benjamin N. Roin and Heidi Williams ()

American Economic Review, 2016, vol. 106, issue 5, 183-87

Abstract: A well-developed theoretical literature--dating back at least to Nordhaus (1969)--has analyzed optimal patent policy design. We re-present the core trade-off of the Nordhaus model and highlight an empirical question which emerges from the Nordhaus framework as a key input into optimal patent policy design: namely, what is the elasticity of R&D investment with respect to the patent term? We then review the--surprisingly small--body of empirical evidence that has been developed on this question over the nearly half century since the publication of Nordhaus's book.

JEL-codes: D21 D92 G31 O32 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20161091
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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