Intellectual Property Rights, Migration and Diaspora

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.J.E.L. Classification: O34; F22; O33; J24; J61.

Intellectual property rights, diasporas, and domestic innovation

“…Finally, trade and FDI are included in light of a rich literature on North-South trade and FDI as determinants of innovation in low-income countries. For details on the 7 We refer the reader to the working paper version of this paper, Naghavi and Strozzi (2011), for a more complete version of the theoretical framework. 8 For the benefits of using patent statistics to measure innovation, see Griliches (1990).…”

Internal Diaspora: Kang Hang’s Japan Experience and Intellectual Isolation in Joseon

“…There was very little qualitative reasoning to connect individual issues to wider social problems and individual affairs with historical narratives. Two decades later, migration studies have been saturated by economic analysis, deploying vague slogans such as "brain drain," "brain gain," "brain circulation," "innovative migration," "intellectual property rights and migration," and "intellectual diaspora" (see inter alia; Khoshkish 1966;Chang 1992;Kilminister & Varcoe 1996;Lucero-Prisno 2005;Mondal & Gupta 2008;McAusland & Khun 2011;Naghavi & Strozzi 2011;Kolesnikova et al, 2014). While such economists were debating the pros and cons of "intellectual diaspora" in tangible economic terms, others tried to connect sociology with economics.…”

Can Intellectual Property Rights Protection Generate Brain Gain from International Migration?

“…We refer the reader to the working paper version of this paper,Naghavi and Strozzi (2011), for a more complete version of the theoretical framework.7 For the bene…ts of using patent statistics to measure innovation, seeGriliches (1990). Along with input data such as research and development (R&D) expenditures and the human capital employed in research, patents have become the most common measure of innovation output(Hall et al, 2001) and of knowledge spillovers(Mancusi, 2008).…”