IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v152y2018i1d10.1007_s10551-016-3291-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fighting Software Piracy: Some Global Conditional Policy Instruments

Author

Listed:
  • Simplice A. Asongu

    (Oxford Brookes University
    African Governance and Development Institute)

  • Pritam Singh

    (Oxford Brookes University)

  • Sara Le Roux

    (Oxford Brookes University)

Abstract

This study examines the efficiency of tools for fighting software piracy in the conditional distributions of software piracy. Our paper examines software piracy in 99 countries over the period 1994–2010, using contemporary and non-contemporary quantile regressions. The intuition for modelling distributions contingent on existing levels of software piracy is that the effectiveness of tools against piracy may consistently decrease or increase simultaneously with the increasing levels of software piracy. Hence, blanket policies against software piracy are unlikely to succeed unless they are contingent on initial levels of software piracy and tailored differently across countries with low, medium and high levels of software piracy. Our findings indicate that GDP per capita, research and development expenditure, main intellectual property laws, multilateral treaties, bilateral treaties, World Intellectual Property Organisation treaties, money supply and respect for the rule of law have negative effects on software piracy. Equitably distributed wealth reduces software piracy, and the tendency not to indulge in software piracy because of equitably distributed wealth increases with the increasing software piracy levels. Hence, the negative degree of responsiveness of software piracy to changes in income levels is an increasing function of software piracy. Moreover, the relationships between policy instruments and software piracy display various patterns: U-shape, Kuznets-shape, S-shape and negative thresholds. A negative threshold represents negative estimates with the increasing negative magnitude throughout the conditional distributions of software piracy. We also discuss the policy implications of our study.

Suggested Citation

  • Simplice A. Asongu & Pritam Singh & Sara Le Roux, 2018. "Fighting Software Piracy: Some Global Conditional Policy Instruments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 175-189, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:152:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3291-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3291-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-016-3291-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-016-3291-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gould, David M. & Gruben, William C., 1996. "The role of intellectual property rights in economic growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 323-350, March.
    2. Montfort Mlachila & René Tapsoba & Sampawende J. A. Tapsoba, 2017. "A Quality of Growth Index for Developing Countries: A Proposal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 675-710, November.
    3. Suleiman Abu‐Bader & Aamer S. Abu‐Qarn, 2008. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Six MENA Countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(4), pages 803-817, November.
    4. Peter Blair Henry, 2007. "Capital Account Liberalization: Theory, Evidence, and Speculation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(4), pages 887-935, December.
    5. Simplice A. Asongu, 2014. "Software Piracy and Scientific Publications: Knowledge Economy Evidence from Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(4), pages 572-583, December.
    6. Maskus, Keith E. & Penubarti, Mohan, 1995. "How trade-related are intellectual property rights?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3-4), pages 227-248, November.
    7. Simplice Asongu, 2013. "Harmonizing IPRs on Software Piracy: Empirics of Trajectories in Africa," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 45-60, November.
    8. Peter Henry, 2007. "Capital Account Liberalization: Theory, Evidence, and Speculation," Discussion Papers 07-004, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
    9. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Levine, Ross, 2003. "Law and finance: why does legal origin matter?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 653-675, December.
    10. Okada, Keisuke & Samreth, Sovannroeun, 2012. "The effect of foreign aid on corruption: A quantile regression approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 240-243.
    11. Simplice Asongu, 2014. "Software piracy, inequality and the poor: evidence from Africa," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(4), pages 526-553, July.
    12. Helpman, Elhanan, 1993. "Innovation, Imitation, and Intellectual Property Rights," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(6), pages 1247-1280, November.
    13. Rajeev Goel & Michael Nelson, 2009. "Determinants of software piracy: economics, institutions, and technology," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 34(6), pages 637-658, December.
    14. Ayhan Kose, M. & Prasad, Eswar S. & Taylor, Ashley D., 2011. "Thresholds in the process of international financial integration," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 147-179, February.
    15. Rod Falvey & Neil Foster & David Greenaway, 2006. "Intellectual Property Rights and Economic Growth," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 700-719, November.
    16. Hans van Kranenburg & Annelies Hogenbirk, 2005. "Multimedia, Entertainment, and Business Software Copyright Piracy: A Cross-National Study," Journal of Media Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 109-129.
    17. Antonio Andrés & Simplice Asongu, 2013. "Fighting Software Piracy: Which Governance Tools Matter in Africa?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 667-682, December.
    18. Roberto Rigobon & Dani Rodrik, 2004. "Rule of Law, Democracy, Openness, and Income: Estimating the Interrelationships," NBER Working Papers 10750, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Billger, Sherrilyn M. & Goel, Rajeev K., 2009. "Do existing corruption levels matter in controlling corruption?: Cross-country quantile regression estimates," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 299-305, November.
    20. Dyuti Banerjee & Ahmed Khalid & Jan-Egbert Sturm, 2005. "Socio-economic development and software piracy. An empirical assessment," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(18), pages 2091-2097.
    21. Roger Koenker & Kevin F. Hallock, 2001. "Quantile Regression," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 143-156, Fall.
    22. Keith E. Maskus, 2000. "Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Economy," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 99, January.
    23. John Anyanwu, 2014. "Working Paper 201 - Does Intra-African Trade Reduce Youth Unemployment in Africa ?," Working Paper Series 2107, African Development Bank.
    24. Holm Håkan J., 2003. "Can economic theory explain piracy behavior?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, April.
    25. Albert Makochekanwa, 2014. "Welfare Implications of COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(1), pages 186-202.
    26. John C. Anyanwu, 2014. "Does Intra‐African Trade Reduce Youth Unemployment in Africa?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 286-309, June.
    27. Simplice Asongu, 2015. "Fighting Software Piracy in Africa: How Do Legal Origins and IPRs Protection Channels Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 6(4), pages 682-703, December.
    28. Peitz, Martin & Waelbroeck, Patrick, 2006. "Piracy of digital products: A critical review of the theoretical literature," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 449-476, November.
    29. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    30. Bezmen, Trisha L. & Depken II, Craig A., 2006. "Influences on software piracy: Evidence from the various United States," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 356-361, March.
    31. Henry Karamuriro Tumwebaze & Alex Thomas Ijjo, 2015. "Regional Economic Integration and Economic Growth in the COMESA Region, 1980–2010," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 27(1), pages 67-77, March.
    32. Marron, Donald B & Steel, David G, 2000. "Which Countries Protect Intellectual Property? The Case of Software Piracy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(2), pages 159-174, April.
    33. Lee, Jeong-Yeon & Mansfield, Edwin, 1996. "Intellectual Property Protection and U.S. Foreign Direct Investment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(2), pages 181-186, May.
    34. Mohammed Shuaibu, 2015. "Does Trade Tariff Liberalisation Matter for Intra-ECOWAS Trade?," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 8(1), pages 83-112, August.
    35. Andrés, Antonio R. & Goel, Rajeev K., 2012. "Does software piracy affect economic growth? Evidence across countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 284-295.
    36. Neil Foster‐McGregor & Anders Isaksson & Florian Kaulich, 2015. "Foreign Ownership and Labour in Sub‐Saharan African Firms," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 27(2), pages 130-144, June.
    37. Mr. Magnus Saxegaard, 2006. "Excess Liquidity and Effectiveness of Monetary Policy: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," IMF Working Papers 2006/115, International Monetary Fund.
    38. Nora Elbialy & Moamen Gouda, 2011. "Enforcing IPR through Informal Institutions: The possible role of religion in fighting software piracy," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201120, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    39. Sabina Kummer‐Noormamode, 2014. "Does Trade with China Have an Impact on African Countries' Growth?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 397-415, June.
    40. Yang, Guifang & Maskus, Keith E., 2001. "Intellectual property rights, licensing, and innovation in an endogenous product-cycle model," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 169-187, February.
    41. Mohammed Shuaibu, 2015. "Trade Liberalization and Intra-Regional Trade: A Case of Selected ECOWAS Countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 27(1), pages 27-40, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simplice A. Asongu, 2021. "Global Software Piracy, Technology and Property Rights Institutions," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(3), pages 1036-1063, September.
    2. Žigić, Krešimir & Střelický, Jiří & Kúnin, Michael, 2023. "Copyright and firms’ own IPR protection in a software market: Monopoly versus duopoly," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    3. Simplice A. Asongu & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2018. "Determinants of Property Rights Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 9(4), pages 1291-1308, December.
    4. Dan Wu & Guofang Nan & Minqiang Li, 2020. "Optimal Piracy Control: Should a Firm Implement Digital Rights Management?," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 947-960, August.
    5. Simplice Asongu & Christelle Meniago, 2018. "Technology and persistence in global software piracy," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 43-63, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Simplice A. Asongu, 2021. "Global Software Piracy, Technology and Property Rights Institutions," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(3), pages 1036-1063, September.
    2. Simplice Asongu & Christelle Meniago, 2018. "Technology and persistence in global software piracy," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 43-63, October.
    3. Simplice A. Asongu & Antonio R. Andrés, 2017. "The impact of software piracy on inclusive human development: evidence from Africa," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(5), pages 585-607, September.
    4. Simplice A. Asongu & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2018. "Determinants of Property Rights Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 9(4), pages 1291-1308, December.
    5. Simplice A. Asongu, 2017. "Boosting Scientific Publications in Africa: Which IPRs Protection Channels Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(1), pages 197-210, March.
    6. Simplice Asongu, 2015. "Fighting Software Piracy in Africa: How Do Legal Origins and IPRs Protection Channels Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 6(4), pages 682-703, December.
    7. Simplice A. Asongu, 2014. "Software Piracy and Scientific Publications: Knowledge Economy Evidence from Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(4), pages 572-583, December.
    8. Asongu Simplice & Andrés Antonio, 2014. "Global trajectories, dynamics, and tendencies of business software piracy: benchmarking IPRs harmonization," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 14/011, African Governance and Development Institute..
    9. Asongu, Simplice A., 2017. "Assessing marginal, threshold, and net effects of financial globalisation on financial development in Africa," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 103-114.
    10. Simplice Asongu, 2014. "Software piracy, inequality and the poor: evidence from Africa," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(4), pages 526-553, July.
    11. Antonio Andrés & Simplice Asongu, 2013. "Fighting Software Piracy: Which Governance Tools Matter in Africa?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 667-682, December.
    12. Simplice Asongu & Lieven De Moor, 2015. "Financial globalisation and financial development in Africa: assessing marginal, threshold and net effects," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 15/040, African Governance and Development Institute..
    13. Simplice A, Asongu, 2012. "Fighting software piracy: which IPRs laws (treaties) matter in Africa?," MPRA Paper 43590, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Simplice Asongu, 2013. "Harmonizing IPRs on Software Piracy: Empirics of Trajectories in Africa," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 45-60, November.
    15. Simplice A. Asongu, 2014. "Fighting Software Piracy: Which IPRs Laws Matter in Africa?," Institutions and Economies (formerly known as International Journal of Institutions and Economies), Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, vol. 6(2), pages 1-26, July.
    16. Asongu Simplice & Antonio R. Andrés, 2012. "Fighting software piracy: which governance tools matter in Africa?," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 12/017, African Governance and Development Institute..
    17. Andrés, Antonio R. & Goel, Rajeev K., 2012. "Does software piracy affect economic growth? Evidence across countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 284-295.
    18. Asongu Simplice & Nwachukwu Jacinta, 2017. "Globalization and Inclusive Human Development in Africa," Man and the Economy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-24, June.
    19. Antonio Andrés & Simplice Asongu & Voxi Amavilah, 2015. "The Impact of Formal Institutions on Knowledge Economy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 6(4), pages 1034-1062, December.
    20. Simplice A. Asongu & Joseph Nnanna & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2020. "The comparative African regional economics of globalization in financial allocation efficiency: the pre-crisis era revisited," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 1-41, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intellectual property rights; Panel data; Software piracy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F42 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Policy Coordination and Transmission
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:152:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3291-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.