The role of foreign direct investment in the relation between intellectual property rights and growth

Abstract

The theory predicts that the welfare implications of intellectual property rights (IPR) reform are ambiguous, and depend on the extent of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the IPR-reforming country. However, previous research finds that stricter IPR increase development, especially among multinational firms in technology-intensive industries. I examine whether the impact of IPR on growth is different depending on a level of FDI, because previous research either looked at a few episodes of IPR reforms, or a specific source or a recipient of FDI, thus potentially overlooking the global effect. Using dynamic panel data techniques and a sample of 103 countries over 1970-2009, I find that although FDI and IPR have positive effects on growth for most of the countries, stronger IPR mitigates the growth effect of FDI for developing countries. Moreover, at the highest levels of FDI, lax IPR increase growth. The effect works through capital accumulation and TFP improvements.