Intellectual Property Rights, Migration and Diaspora

Quaderni DSE Working Paper No. 774

42 Pages Posted: 26 Jul 2011

See all articles by Alireza Naghavi

Alireza Naghavi

University of Bologna - Department of Economics

Chiara Strozzi

Università Degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE) - Faculty of Business and Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 21, 2011

Abstract

In this paper we study theoretically and empirically the role of the interaction between skilled migration and intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection in determining innovation in developing countries (South). We show that although emigration from the South may directly result in the well-known concept of brain drain, it also causes a brain gain effect, the extent of which depends on the level of IPRs protection in the sending country. We argue this to come from a diaspora channel through which the knowledge acquired by emigrants abroad can flow back to the South and enhance the skills of the remaining workers there. By increasing the size of the innovation sector and the skill-intensity of emigration, IPRs protection makes it more likely for diaspora gains to dominate, thus facilitating a potential net brain gain. Our main theoretical insights are then tested empirically using a panel dataset of emerging and developing countries. The findings reveal a positive correlation between emigration and innovation in the presence of strong IPRs protection.

Keywords: Intellectual property rights, Migration, Technology transfer, Brain gain, Diaspora

JEL Classification: O34, F22, O33, J24, J61

Suggested Citation

Naghavi, Alireza and Strozzi, Chiara, Intellectual Property Rights, Migration and Diaspora (July 21, 2011). Quaderni DSE Working Paper No. 774, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1895426 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1895426

Alireza Naghavi (Contact Author)

University of Bologna - Department of Economics ( email )

Piazza Scaravilli 2
Bologna, 40126
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://alirezanaghavi.altervista.org/

Chiara Strozzi

Università Degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE) - Faculty of Business and Economics ( email )

Viale Berengario 51
41100 Modena, Modena 41100
Italy

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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