The Effects of Intellectual Property Rights Violations on Economic Growth

This paper examines the relationship between intellectual property rights (IPRs) and the growth rate of per capita GDP during the period 1996-2006 in a sample 71 countries. Using software piracy data as a proxy for IPR violations, we find that countries with increasing rates of software piracy have lower growth rates. We also find that states with strong commitments to enact policies to protect intellectual property rights are able to achieve higher growth rates.