Intellectual Property Rights Protection, Agglomeration And Economic Growth

The study on intellectual property rights protection, one of the hot issues in economic research, emphasizes on whether protection improvement is beneficial to innovation and economic growth. It is noteworthy that almost all of the studies are only about the growth effect of intellectual property rights protection on time dimension. The enterprise selection effect of intellectual property protection on spatial dimension was neglected as so far. There are rare reports that simultaneously consider intellectual property protection, industrial agglomeration and economic growth in one analysis framework. In the present thesis, the effect of intellectual property protection on spatial dimension is inspected with substantial evidence. Furthermore, comprehensive analysis frameworks and models were constructed to systematically study the spatial effect and growth effect of intellectual property protection on theoretical level.First of all, the internal relations between intellectual property rights protection and industrial agglomeration were investigated on experimental level. After the comprehensive parameters of the strength of intellectual property protection in different areas were established, the analysis result of panel data from provinces in mainland (1995-2008) indicated that there is a positive relationship between protection level and agglomeration level, and higher protection level can promote the agglomeration of regional economic activities.According to the thought of experimental research and the remarkable difference between innovative regions and non-innovative regions, a new model of growth in economic geography was established in the view of rent protection in innovative regions. In this model, intellectual property protection, industrial agglomeration and economic growth was investigated in one unified analysis framework. The relationship between intellectual property protection and industrial agglomeration can be explained on theoretical level in this model, also we can use this model to comprehensively analysis the relationship in intellectual property protection, industrial agglomeration and economic growth. The result of theoretical research included the followings:1. Since higher intellectual property protection level can promote the agglomeration by decreasing the relative production cost in innovative region, intellectual property protection has remarkable spatial effect; 2. Higher intellectual property protection level can increase the profit from innovation to directly promote economic growth, also it can indirectly promote economic growth by the development of industrial agglomeration; 3. The indirect effect of intellectual property protection on economic growth is stronger than direct effect under certain conditions; 4. In some conditions, unlimited protection can maximize social welfare in innovative region, however, the effect in non-innovative region is uncertain.Subsequently, the relationship among intellectual property rights protection industrial agglomeration and economic growth was discussed in view of rent protection in non-innovative region, with the presence of unremarkable technological level gaps and remarkable imitation from non-innovation region. When enterprises need to pay higher cost on rent protection in non-innovative region, higher protection level can decrease industrial agglomeration. The effect of intellectual property protection on economic growth includes two sides:the protection can directly promote the growth by increasing innovative profiles, and higher protection level has indirect negative effect on economic growth by decreasing industrial agglomeration and increasing innovation cost. Since the absence of both converse effects, the relationship between intellectual property protection and economic growth is not linear, and higher protection level can not always promote economic growth.Ultimately, we analyzed the spatial effect and growth effect of intellectual property protection in the view of relationship between industrial agglomeration and economic growth. We can conclude as following:1. when the transportation cost is enough high, there is a sole balance between industrial agglomeration and economic growth; 2. if the economic system is on the stable condition from beginning, the balance is stable; 3. intellectual property protection has direct and indirect effect on both industrial agglomeration and economic growth. Under certain conditions, higher protection level can not only develop industrial agglomeration in innovative region, also promote economic growth. Completely intellectual property protection can maximize economic growth.