Domestic intellectual property rights protection and the margins of bilateral exports
Gideon Ndubuisi & Neil Foster-McGregor
#2018-035
How trade related is Intellectual property right (IPRs) protection?
Extant studies examining the relationship between domestic Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs) protection and trade focus predominately on
imports whilst neglecting exports. This paper focuses on the latter,
further examining the effect of domestic IPRs on the margins of exports.
Results from the study reveal that IPRs are trade-related and that it
can be a tool for stimulating exports in both developed and developing
countries. We also find that the level of IPRs in the exporting country
matters more to the exporter than the level of IPRs in the importing
country. Examining the different export margins, we obtain robust
evidence suggesting that stronger IPRs in the exporter country works
largely along the extensive margin, with coefficients on the intensive
margin tending to be insignificant. We discuss the welfare and growth
implications of these findings in the conclusion.
JEL Classification: O34, F13, F14
Keywords: Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); Exports, Intensive and
extensive margin