Do stronger intellectual property rights increase international technology transfer? Empirical evidence from U.S. firm-level panel data

Lee Branstetter, Raymond Fisman and C. Fritz Foley

No 3305, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: One of the alleged benefits of the recent global movement to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPRs) is that such reforms accelerate transfers of technology between countries. The paper examines how technology transfer among U.S. multinational firms changes in response to a series of IPR reforms undertaken by 12 countries over the 1982-99 period. The analysis of detailed firm-level data reveal that royalty payments for intangibles transferred to affiliates increase at the time of reforms, as do affiliate research and development (R&D) expenditures and total levels of foreign patent applications. Increases in royalty payments and R&D expenditures are more than 20 percent larger among affiliates of parent companies that use U.S. patents more extensively prior to reform and therefore are expected to value IPR reform most.

Keywords: Environmental Economics&Policies; ICT Policy and Strategies; Real&Intellectual Property Law; General Technology; Banks&Banking Reform; Environmental Economics&Policies; Real&Intellectual Property Law; ICT Policy and Strategies; General Technology; Education for the Knowledge Economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-05-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ino
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Journal Article: Do Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Increase International Technology Transfer? Empirical Evidence from U. S. Firm-Level Panel Data (2006)
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