Cross-border Patenting, Globalization, and Development

Jesse LaBelle, Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, Ana Maria Santacreu and Yoto Yotov ()
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Yoto Yotov: School of Economics, Drexel University

No 202507, Working Papers from Center for Global Policy Analysis, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University

Abstract: We build a model of cross-border patent filing, technology diffusion, and development. Our theory delivers a ‘structural gravity’ equation for cross-border patent flows that disentangles the effects of technology diffusion from policy-driven changes in IPR protection. To test the model’s predictions, we compile the International Patent and Citations across Sectors (INPACT-S) database that tracks patents within and between countries and industries over time. The econometric analysis reveals that while policy efforts have effectively promoted cross-border patent flows, the surge in patents from developed (North) to developing (South) countries between 1995 and 2018 was primarily driven by increased technology diffusion. A numerical analysis shows these North-South flows benefited both regions but generated larger gains in the South, thus reducing global income inequality.

Keywords: Cross-border Patents; Gravity; Technology Diffusion; Development; Policy. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F63 O14 O33 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 79
Date: 2025-07
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https://www.lebow.drexel.edu/sites/default/files/2 ... border-patenting.pdf First version, 2025 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Cross-border Patenting, Globalization, and Development (2024)
Working Paper: Cross-Border Patenting, Globalization, and Development (2023)
Working Paper: Cross-border Patenting, Globalization, and Development (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:drx:wpaper:202507

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