Institutional Design for China's Innovation System: Implications for Intellectual Property Rights

Thirty years ago, China began its march to a market economy “with Chinese AQ1 characteristics.” At the time, it was not clear what that meant. Even today, what this entails is the subject of debate and discussion. Various chapters in this book have focused on what it might involve for, for instance, the property rights regime. This chapter focuses on a particular kind of property—intellectual property— and its role as part of society’s innovation system. A country’s innovation system is the collection of institutions that promote innovation, providing incentives and finance and allocating resources among researchers and research projects. The innovation system is concerned with the production, import, and dissemination of ideas and knowledge throughout the economy and society, including the creation of new products and the improvement of production processes