Knowledge accumulation at the regional level and the role of intellectual property rights

Abstract

ABSTRACT There has been a growing debate on the role of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the accumulation of knowledge and more recently on the role they play in ensuring long-term economic growth by supporting knowledge creation and expansion, incentivizing investment in R&D and innovation. This research aims to reveal the effects of industrial property rights on regional economic development in Turkey. In addition, and recognizing the heterogeneity across regions within the same country, we conduct the analysis with a caveat, by differentiating the effect across developed and developing regions. Our results suggest that industrial property rights have played a dual role, first by promoting the effort on investment in innovation activities measured as R&D intensity, and the amount of R&D employees, and second, by contributing to economic development. However, the impact differs between developed and developing regions.