Intellectual property rights, technology diffusion, and agricultural development: Cross-country evidence

CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Discussion paper

EPTD; PIM

IFPRI2; CRP2; A.3 Science, Technology, and innovation Policy; PIM 2.3 Science, technology, and innovation systems; Subtheme 9.2

Non-PR

The role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has been extensively debated in the literature on technology transfers and agricultural production in developing countries. However, few studies offer cross-country evidence on how IPRs affect yield growth, for example, by incentivizing private-sector investment in cultivar improvement. We address this knowledge gap by testing technology diffusion patterns for six major crops using a unique dataset for the period 1961–2010 and an Arellano–Bond linear dynamic panel-data estimation approach. Findings indicate that both biological and legal forms of IPRs tend to promote yield gap convergence between developed and developing countries, although effects vary between crops.