Who Enjoys ‘TRIPs’ Abroad? An Empirical Analysis of Intellectual Property Rights in

This paper extends the analysis of the GATT Uruguay Round by quantifying the impact of the TRIPs agreement through the estimation a multi-country endogenous growth model. The static costs of raising the standards of patent protection implied by the agreement are captured by the transfers of income between countries. The estimated transfers reveal that the majority of countries make net payments abroad, the US being a major beneficiary. To offset these transfers the model provides estimates of the dynamic benefits from the greater incentive to innovate under the TRIPs agreement, revealing that all countries potentially benefit from the TRIPs agreement. JEL Classification: O34, F4