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Offshoring and intellectual property rights reform

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  • Canals, Claudia
  • Şener, Fuat

Abstract

This paper empirically assesses the responsiveness of US offshoring to intellectual property rights (IPR) reforms in 16 countries. We construct a measure of US offshoring at the industry level based on trade in intermediate goods, covering 23 industries for the period 1973–2006. For each industry, we differentiate between broad offshoring and intra-industry offshoring activities. We conduct a difference-in-difference analysis using the IPR reform years proposed in Branstetter et al. (2006, Quarterly Journal of Economics). We find that following IPR reform, neither broad nor intra-industry offshoring intensities change for the typical US industry at conventional levels of significance. However, high-tech (patent-sensitive) industries substantially expand their intra-industry offshoring activities, whereas low-tech (patent-insensitive) industries do not change their intra-industry offshoring activities in a statistically significant way. In addition, high-tech industries increase their broad offshoring relative to low-tech industries, but the effects are smaller and less robust than those estimated for intra-industry offshoring.

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  • Canals, Claudia & Şener, Fuat, 2014. "Offshoring and intellectual property rights reform," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 17-31.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:108:y:2014:i:c:p:17-31
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.01.001
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    8. Weifeng Zhai & Shiling Sun & Guangxing Zhang, 2016. "Reshoring of American manufacturing companies from China," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 62-74, December.
    9. Colin Davis & Ken‐ichi Hashimoto, 2023. "Innovation offshoring and reshoring with fully endogenous growth," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 90(1), pages 90-120, July.
    10. Klein, Michael A, 2020. "Trade Secret Protection in a Developing Economy," MPRA Paper 103360, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    12. Buss, Philipp & Peukert, Christian, 2015. "R&D outsourcing and intellectual property infringement," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 977-989.
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    14. Willoughby, Kelvin W. & Mullina, Nadezhda, 2021. "Reverse innovation, international patenting and economic inertia: Constraints to appropriating the benefits of technological innovation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
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    17. Olena Ivus & Walter Park & Kamal Saggi, 2015. "Patent Protection and the Industrial Composition of Multinational Activity: Evidence from U.S. Multinational Firms," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 15-00014, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    18. Alpizar–Castro, Israel & Rodríguez–Monroy, Carlos, 2016. "Review of Mexico׳s energy reform in 2013: Background, analysis of the reform and reactions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 725-736.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intellectual property rights; Patents; Technology; Multinational firms; Outsourcing; Offshoring; Subcontracting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

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