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Growth and welfare effects of intellectual property rights when consumers differ in income

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  • Christian Kiedaisch

Abstract

This paper analyzes how changing the expected length of intellectual property (IP) protection affects economic growth and the welfare of rich and poor consumers. The analysis is based on a product-variety model with non-homothetic preferences and endogenous markups in which, in accordance with empirical evidence, rich households consume a larger variety of goods than poorer ones. The effects of IP protection on growth can be either positive or negative, depending on the distribution of income and wealth. Given that increasing the length of IP protection increases growth, poorer households prefer a shorter length of protection than richer ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Kiedaisch, 2016. "Growth and welfare effects of intellectual property rights when consumers differ in income," ECON - Working Papers 221, Department of Economics - University of Zurich, revised Jul 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:zur:econwp:221
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    Cited by:

    1. Angus C. Chu & Guido Cozzi & Haichao Fang & Yuichi Furukawa & Chih-Hsing Liao, 2019. "Innovation and Inequality in a Monetary Schumpeterian Model with Heterogeneous Households and Firms," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 34, pages 141-164, October.
    2. Hu, Ruiyang & Yang, Yibai & Zheng, Zhijie, 2023. "Patent protection and income inequality in a model with two growth engines," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    3. Angus C. Chu & Yuichi Furukawa & Sushanta Mallick & Pietro Peretto & Xilin Wang, 2021. "Dynamic effects of patent policy on innovation and inequality in a Schumpeterian economy," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 71(4), pages 1429-1465, June.
    4. Chu, Angus & Liao, Chih-Hsing, 2023. "Optimal Patent Policy and Wealth Inequality in a Schumpeterian Economy," MPRA Paper 117209, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Angus C. Chu, 2022. "Patent policy and economic growth: A survey," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 90(2), pages 237-254, March.
    6. Angus C. Chu & Guido Cozzi & Haichao Fang & Yuichi Furukawa & Chih-Hsing Liao, 2019. "Innovation and Inequality in a Monetary Schumpeterian Model with Heterogeneous Households and Firms," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 34, pages 141-164, October.
    7. Roberto Piazza & Yu Zheng, 2023. "Innovate to lead or innovate to prevail: When do monopolistic rents induce growth?," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 76(3), pages 867-919, October.
    8. Angus Chu & Guido Cozzi, 2018. "Effects of Patents versus R&D subsidies on Income Inequality," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 29, pages 68-84, July.
    9. Lu, You-Xun & Lai, Ching-Chong, 2021. "Effects of patent policy on growth and inequality: A perspective of exogenous and endogenous quality improvements," MPRA Paper 111183, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Chu, Angus, 2021. "Macroeconomic Effects of Intellectual Property Rights: An Updated Survey," MPRA Paper 110839, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intellectual property rights; income distribution; endogenous growth; non-homothetic preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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