The role of intellectual property rights in a directed technical change model.

Abstract

We propose a two country, Innovator and Follower, directed technical change model between tradable and nontradable sectors. The Innovator performs innovative R&D and the Follower adopts the available technological knowledge. Substitutability between sectors, scale effects, international IPRs protection and R&D productivity determine the economic growth and the technological-knowledge bias, which, in turn, affects relative prices and wages. Wages are higher in the Innovator, namely in the nontradable sector under strong substitutability. Technological-knowledge and intra-country wage inequality are biassed towards the tradable sector, the effect being reinforced by positive IPRs protection and substitutability. Real exchange rates accommodate the Balassa-Samuelson proposal and increase with positive IPRs protection and substitutability. The effect of IPRs on the steady-state growth rate is ambiguous, depending on the substitutability. Theoretical results are also influenced by labor movements and are confirmed by a calibrated exercise for 11 developed/Innovator countries and 11 developing/Follower countries, and by the empirical evidence.