Do Intellectual Property Rights Affect Firm-level Productivity Growth in China? A Nonlinear Approach

35 Pages Posted: 20 May 2022 Last revised: 20 Mar 2023

Date Written: May 9, 2022

Abstract

This paper explores the way that intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection as a moderating variable affects firm-level productivity growth through innovation (filing patents) and diffusion (importing goods). Using Chinese firm data, I show graphic representation of the non-linearities that characterize the heterogeneous average treatment effects of both patenting and importing activities on firm productivity. The graphic results suggest that productivity effect of patenting is positively dependent on the local protection of IPRs, while that of importing is first negatively and then positively affected by IPRs. I also find that overstrict protection of IPRs can reduce the productivity impact of both channels and firms in private sector are more reliant on IPRs to improve productivity
through filing patents.

Keywords: Intellectual property rights, firm productivity, firm ownership, non-linearities, conditional average treatment effect

JEL Classification: F43, O31, O34, O43, P26

Suggested Citation

Liu, Renliang, Do Intellectual Property Rights Affect Firm-level Productivity Growth in China? A Nonlinear Approach (May 9, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4105491 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4105491

Renliang Liu (Contact Author)

Liaoning University ( email )

Shenyang, Liaoning
China

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