Creativity and the Economics of the Copyright Controversy

8 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2010

See all articles by Harold Demsetz

Harold Demsetz

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics

Date Written: December 31, 2009

Abstract

The debate about copyright law centers on the apparent tradeoff between the creation of new works and the extent to which these works are used once they are created. Economics has been employed explicitly and implicitly to bolster positions taken by those involved in this debate. I do not directly join this debate here, but what I will say is relevant to it. My objectives are different, to draw attention to the neglect of creativity by economists and to describe some of the unique problems this neglect poses for those who use traditional economic models to explain and support the positions they take in this debate. It is no intent of mine to discourage the use of traditional economic models but, rather, to urge greater care in their use.

Suggested Citation

Demsetz, Harold, Creativity and the Economics of the Copyright Controversy (December 31, 2009). Review of Economic Research on Copyright Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp 5-12, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1545464

Harold Demsetz (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics ( email )

Box 951477
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477
United States
(310) 825-3651 (Phone)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
566
Abstract Views
2,161
Rank
89,189
PlumX Metrics