Whether the role of technological innovation and intellectual property rights on sustainable development different in developing and developed countries? A panel data analysis

The study explores the relationship between innovation indicators and Intellectual Property Rights on sustainable development (SD) in 129 countries. Based on Porter's hypothesis, the study argues that properly framed IPR laws can induce innovations that may promote a nation's sustainable development. The hypothesis ascertains that stringent regulation may not hamper the innovative process but instead promote it by producing more efficient and less-pollutant products and processes. The study constructs three indexes of SD; genuine saving, ecological footprint, and pollution-sensitive Human Development Index. For innovation, the study proxies with the patent application, trademark application, and research and development expenditure (R&D). The intellectual property rights index measures the strength of IPR in a country. The individual estimation among the countries' lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and high-income categories establishes the significant role of R&D on SD irrespective of index and country's classification. The results, however, produce mixed evidence of the impact of other innovation variables on SD. The U-shaped relationship between IPR and SD indicates the immediate negative and long-run positive impact of IPR on SD.