3.2.4 (continued PhD project)
The role of IPRs protection in encouraging FDI spillovers in developing countries
The relationship between intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and knowledge spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) has been identified as a key area for further research, in order to enhance the ability of developing countries’ policymakers to take evidence-based decisions on IP matters.
Although theory suggests that FDI will tend to generate positive knowledge spillovers in the host economy, the evidence from both qualitative and quantitative research has been rather ambiguous.
Against this backdrop, this project has the following objectives:
- First, it seeks to make use of patent registration and citation data to track knowledge flows and thereby assess the empirical significance of different types of FDI spillovers.
- Second, it intends to examine if and to what extent FDI location decisions and possible spillovers from FDI can be explained by the existence and enforcement of certain levels of IPR protection.
Econometric techniques will be employed to answer a number of research questions including (i) the role of IPRs in explaining FDI location decisions, and (ii) the occurrence of FDI spillovers across countries, within and between sectors, and throughout time. The research output shall include practical recommendations on how to better integrate and sequence IPR protection provisions into trade agreements, technology transfer regulations and technical assistance programmes.
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© Corinne Karlaganis
