1,721,166 research outputs found
Intellectual Property Rights, Parallel Imports and Strategic Behavior
Full text linkThe existence of parallel imports (PI) raises a number of interesting policy and strategic questions, which are the subject of this survey article. For example, parallel trade is essentially arbitrage within policy-integrated markets of IPR-protected goods, which may have different prices across countries. Thus, we analyze fully two types of price differences that give rise to such arbitrage. First is simple retail-level trade in horizontal markets because consumer prices may differ. Second is the deeper, and more strategic, issue of vertical pricing within the common distribution organization of an original manufacturer selling its goods through wholesale distributors in different markets. This vertical price control problem presents the IPR-holding firm a menu of strategic choices regarding how to compete with PI. Another strategic question is how the existence of PI might affect incentives of IPR holders to invest in research and development (R&D). The global research-based pharmaceutical firms, for example, strongly oppose any relaxation of restrictions against PI of drugs into the United States, arguing that the potential reduction in profits would diminish their ability to innovate. There is a close linkage here with price controls for medicines, which are a key component of national health policies but can give rise to arbitrage through PI. We also discuss the complex economic relationships between PI and other forms of competition policy, or attempts to limit the abuse of market power offered by patents and copyrights. Finally, we review the emerging literature on how policies governing PI may affect international trade agreements.IPR; Parallel Imports; International Arbitrage; Research and Development
Intellectual Property and Development : Lessons from Recent Economic Research
Full text linkHow will developing countries fare in
this new international environment? This book brings
together empirical research that assesses the effects of
changing intellectual property regimes on various measures
of economic and social performance-ranging from
international trade, foreign investment and competition to
innovation and access to new technologies. The studies
presented point to an important development dimension to the
protection of intellectual property. But a one-size fits all
approach to intellectual property is unlikely to work. There
is need to adjust intellectual property norms to domestic
needs, taking into account developing countries'
capacity to innovate, technological needs, and institutional
capabilities. In addition, governments need to consider a
range of complementary policies to maximize the benefits and
reduce the costs of reformed intellectual property regulations
The cost of compliance with product standards for firms in developing countries: an econometric study
Full text linkStandards and technical regulations exist to protect consumer safety or to achieve other goals, such as ensuring the interoperability of telecommunications systems, for example. Standards and technical regulations can, however, raise substantially both start-up and production costs for firms. Maskus, Otsuki, and Wilson develop econometric models to provide the first estimates of the incremental production costs for firms in developing nations in conforming to standards imposed by major importing countries. They use firm-level data generated from 16 developing countries in the World Bank Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Survey Database. Their findings indicate that standards do increase short-run production costs by requiring additional inputs of labor and capital. A 1 percent increase in investment to meet compliance costs in importing countries raises variable production costs by between 0.06 and 0.13 percent, a statistically significant increase. The authors also find that the fixed costs of compliance are nontrivial-approximately $425,000 per firm, or about 4.7 percent of value added on average. The results may be interpreted as one indication of the extent to which standards and technical regulations might constitute barriers to trade. While the relative impact on costs of compliance is relatively small, these costs can be decisive factors driving export success for companies. In this context, there is scope for considering that the costs associated with more limited exports to countries with import regulations may not conform to World Trade Organization rules encouraging harmonization of regulations to international standards, for example. Policy solutions then might be sought by identifying the extent to which subsidies or public support programs are needed to offset the cost disadvantage that arises from nonharmonized technical regulations.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Administrative&Regulatory Law,Science Education
Three Essays on International Trade with a Focus on Intellectual Property Rights
Full text linkThis thesis discusses three independent topics related to parallel trade and the nexus between intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection and the mode of foreign direct investment (FDI). A simple model and a numerical example are demonstrated in chapter 2 to show that even though parallel imports (PI) may reduce IPR holder’s incentive in investing in brand marketing due to free rider problem, investment in service will increase as a response to PI since service is excludable and it helps mitigate price competition by achieving product differentiation. In chapter 3, I investigate the impact of software piracy and PI in the video game market. Three interesting results are obtained. First, the software provider and the hardware manufacturer could both benefit from software piracy. Second, the hardware manufacturer may benefit from parallel imports (PI). Third, the consumers in the PI recipient country are not necessarily better off due to PI. Chapter 4 is an empirical study that discusses how IPR regime affects multinational firms’ ownership structure (joint venture or wholly owned subsidiaries) in the foreign market. By analyzing a firm-level panel data set from Taiwanese manufacturing multinational enterprises for the period 2003 to 2005, I find that Taiwanese manufacturing multinational firms are more likely to choose joint ventures if IPR protection in the FDI host country is strong. The estimation results suggest that one unit increase in IPR protection in the average country raises the probability of joint ventures by 13.5 percent. I also find that MNEs prefer wholly owned subsidiaries to joint ventures in host countries with large markets and high factor price as well as high average income
Should core labor standards be imposed through international trade policy?
Full text linkNumerous proposals have surfaced recently to incorporate a clause about labor standards in the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Such a clause would require each WTO member to recognize and enforce certain core labor standards: forbidding forced labor, discrimination, and the exploitation of child workers, and guaranteeing the rights of workers to associate freely and engage in collective bargaining with employers. Failure to provide core labor standards would subject a country to international trade sanctions. The author analyzes links between core labor standards and international trade policy. He develops a series of simple models to see whether limiting core labor standards in export sectors of developing countries can improve the countries'price competitiveness in export markets. He concludes that deficient provision of core labor standards generally diminishes export competitiveness rather than improving it, because of the distortionary effects of those deficiencies. In other words, concerns about the negative impact on industrial countries of limited wage, employment, and labor standards in developing countries are largely misplaced -with one exception: exploiting child labor could expand exports in highly labor-intensive sectors. But wage spillovers into industrial economy labor markets must be trivial, and there is no empirical evidence that the use of child labor provides measurable competitive advantages. Do international trade sanctions serve a legitimate, effective role in penalizing countries that fail to observe core labor standards? The author points out that trade restrictions are blunt, indirect instruments and may be counterproductive,harming the people they are designed to help and ineffective in achieving stated goals. Thus, including in WTO rules a social clause guaranteeing core labor standards would reduce global efficiency for a small gain. Some approaches -including compensation programs from wealthy countries, focused on poverty reduction and better access to education- would be more effective and less costly than trade restrictions. At the same time, the International Labor Organization could improve its monitoring and publicity efforts, to raise international consciousness about labor standards.Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Labor Standards,Banks&Banking Reform,Labor Standards,Work&Working Conditions,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance
Demand and Determinants of FDI: A Knowledge-Capital Approach
Full text linkThis dissertation seeks to reinforce our understanding of an important role of demand-side in determining foreign direct investment (FDI). To do so, it both theoretically and empirically extends the standard Knowledge-Capital (KC) approach, which is now a widely-adopted comprehensive framework to analyze overseas investment decisions of multinational enterprises (MNEs). It provides theoretical foundation and empirical evidence on main topic of the dissertation that per-capita income is closely related to location and production decisions of MNEs.
Chapter 2 develops a theoretical model to examine the roles of demand-driven factors and provides testable predictions driven from numerical simulation results. Therefore, it plays a role of producing theoretical explanation for a link between per-capita income and overseas investment decisions of MNEs.
Chapter 3 tests the hypotheses from the chapter 2, particularly the Linder hypothesis for FDI, for Korean multinationals' experiences. It shows that empirical results from System GMM estimation technique are consistent with the theoretical predictions driven from the chapter 2. It is estimated that a 10% decrease in per-capita income divergences between Korea and an average host country leads to a 8.6% rise in Korean overseas direct investment. There was no change in the main results both across different specifications and for the U.S. FDI experiences.
The final chapter empirically examines the determinants for sectoral FDI and compares their influences in the manufacturing and services sectors. It shows distinct features of each sector makes a difference in relative importance of FDI determinants between the two sectors
Three Essays on International Trade with a Focus on Intellectual Property Rights
Full text linkThis thesis discusses three independent topics related to parallel trade and the nexus between intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection and the mode of foreign direct investment (FDI). A simple model and a numerical example are demonstrated in chapter 2 to show that even though parallel imports (PI) may reduce IPR holder’s incentive in investing in brand marketing due to free rider problem, investment in service will increase as a response to PI since service is excludable and it helps mitigate price competition by achieving product differentiation. In chapter 3, I investigate the impact of software piracy and PI in the video game market. Three interesting results are obtained. First, the software provider and the hardware manufacturer could both benefit from software piracy. Second, the hardware manufacturer may benefit from parallel imports (PI). Third, the consumers in the PI recipient country are not necessarily better off due to PI. Chapter 4 is an empirical study that discusses how IPR regime affects multinational firms’ ownership structure (joint venture or wholly owned subsidiaries) in the foreign market. By analyzing a firm-level panel data set from Taiwanese manufacturing multinational enterprises for the period 2003 to 2005, I find that Taiwanese manufacturing multinational firms are more likely to choose joint ventures if IPR protection in the FDI host country is strong. The estimation results suggest that one unit increase in IPR protection in the average country raises the probability of joint ventures by 13.5 percent. I also find that MNEs prefer wholly owned subsidiaries to joint ventures in host countries with large markets and high factor price as well as high average income
Demand and Determinants of FDI: A Knowledge-Capital Approach
Full text linkThis dissertation seeks to reinforce our understanding of an important role of demand-side in determining foreign direct investment (FDI). To do so, it both theoretically and empirically extends the standard Knowledge-Capital (KC) approach, which is now a widely-adopted comprehensive framework to analyze overseas investment decisions of multinational enterprises (MNEs). It provides theoretical foundation and empirical evidence on main topic of the dissertation that per-capita income is closely related to location and production decisions of MNEs.
Chapter 2 develops a theoretical model to examine the roles of demand-driven factors and provides testable predictions driven from numerical simulation results. Therefore, it plays a role of producing theoretical explanation for a link between per-capita income and overseas investment decisions of MNEs.
Chapter 3 tests the hypotheses from the chapter 2, particularly the Linder hypothesis for FDI, for Korean multinationals' experiences. It shows that empirical results from System GMM estimation technique are consistent with the theoretical predictions driven from the chapter 2. It is estimated that a 10% decrease in per-capita income divergences between Korea and an average host country leads to a 8.6% rise in Korean overseas direct investment. There was no change in the main results both across different specifications and for the U.S. FDI experiences.
The final chapter empirically examines the determinants for sectoral FDI and compares their influences in the manufacturing and services sectors. It shows distinct features of each sector makes a difference in relative importance of FDI determinants between the two sectors
Energy Finance to Developing Energy Sectors: An Analysis of Chinese Policy Bank Lending on Energy Production in Developing Countries and Determinants of Energy Lending
Full text linkAnalysis of development finance and policy options often revolve around the traditional development finance institutions (DFIs), but recent years have marked a significant shift in preference towards bilateral lending. China, now one of the largest global foreign creditors, is leading a new trend in development finance; opting to lend directly to certain sectors that prioritize growth and improving material standards rather than the traditional concept of aid. Developing energy sectors are no exception, and the turn of the century has brought with it a Chinese finance apparatus that has spurred project development across the developing world. Energy, its uses being a key aspect of enhanced economic development, is vital to the development outcomes within countries. Despite this, research quantifying the effect of this new phenomenon of Chinese development finance to energy sectors is few and far between. This analysis focuses on annual energy output as a proxy of economic development, and analyzes the effects of Chinese lending through regression analysis techniques. Through two-stage techniques, instruments are used to approximate the effect of lending and determine characteristics of countries accepting loans. The research finds the effect of lending with respect to total annual output is likely marginally positive, but the introduction of country fixed effects made the results inconclusive. Lending selection yields more insightful results, adding quantitative results to the discussion of the deviation from good governance lending requirements of traditional DFI’s, while also signaling that financial integration with China is a solid indicator of lending relationships. As the landscape of development finance evolves, the role of bilateral lending, its effects, and its causes are of vital importance to international relations and global behavior as policy and development continue to be inexorably linked.</p
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