The Development Impact of IP: Economic Studies Building Partnerships for Mobilizing Resources for Development, Geneva, November 5 & 6, 2009 Carsten Fink Chief Economist Economic Studies, Statistics, and Analysis Division

Overview Strategic Realignment within WIPO Why economic analysis on IP? For whom? Elements towards an economic research agenda Quality of analysis Final remarks

Strategic realignment within WIPO Economic Studies, Statistics, and Analysis Division WIPO Chief Economist IP Statistics SectionEconomic Studies Section

Why economic analysis on IP? Ultimately, the formulation and implementation of an IP system is an element of economic policy Optimizing IP protection entails economic trade-offs, which need to be understood at the conceptual and empirical levels Contribution of economic analysis: –Mathematical modeling: making explicit assumptions about how the world works –Empirical investigations

Why economic analysis on IP? Increased reliance on the IP system to foster innovation; increased share of “knowledge- based” value added IP and global challenges –Public health –Food security –Climate change => Increased need for economic analysis on IP => More and more IP offices hire economists

For whom? “Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.” John Maynard Keynes The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936)

For whom? Policymakers: –Support operation of patent offices –Offer input in IP policy reform processes Economics profession General public

Elements towards an economic research agenda Overall objective: high quality empirical information and analysis to inform policymakers on the economic effects of the intellectual property (IP) system, particularly with respect to developing countries. Global studies element –Analyze technology, business, and policy-driven trends affecting all WIPO Member countries –Publish annual World Intellectual Property Report

Elements towards an economic research agenda National studies element –Mandate: recommendations 35 and 37 of WIPO Development Agenda –Focus on needs of policymakers in developing countries –Strong empirical focus, including the creation of new databases –Work with researchers in developing countries

Quality of analysis “Overall, while local economies may experience significant speculative price imbalances, a national severe price distortion [in home properties] seems most unlikely in the United States, given its size and diversity.” Alan Greenspan October 19, 2004

Quality of analysis Nobody can predict the future! Transparency of methodologies and modeling approaches Institution of quality control mechanisms: –Academic peer review

Final remarks Building economic research capacity and delivering credible studies will take time Empirical research can be resource intensive Finding definite answers to some of the “big” questions is probably elusive There is much scope to make informed contributions to specific IP policy questions

Thank you!