Patent Protection and Innovation Over 150 Years /
Lerner, Josh.
Patent Protection and Innovation Over 150 Years / Josh Lerner. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2002. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w8977 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8977. .
June 2002.
The paper seeks to understand the impact of the patent system on innovation by examining shifts in the strength of patent protection across sixty countries and a 150-year period. An examination of 177 policy changes reveals that strengthening patent protection appears to have few positive effects on patent applications by entities in the country undertaking the policy change, whether filings in Great Britain or the nation making the policy change are considered. Cross-sectional analyses suggest that the impact of patent protection-enhancing shifts were greater in nations with weaker initial protection and greater economic development, consistent with economic theory. I address concerns about the endogeneity of these changes by employing an instrumental variable approach.
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Patent Protection and Innovation Over 150 Years / Josh Lerner. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2002. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w8977 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8977. .
June 2002.
The paper seeks to understand the impact of the patent system on innovation by examining shifts in the strength of patent protection across sixty countries and a 150-year period. An examination of 177 policy changes reveals that strengthening patent protection appears to have few positive effects on patent applications by entities in the country undertaking the policy change, whether filings in Great Britain or the nation making the policy change are considered. Cross-sectional analyses suggest that the impact of patent protection-enhancing shifts were greater in nations with weaker initial protection and greater economic development, consistent with economic theory. I address concerns about the endogeneity of these changes by employing an instrumental variable approach.
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.