The link between intellectual property rights, innovation, and growth: A meta-analysis

In recent decades, intellectual property rights (IPR) and their macroeconomic effects have attracted considerable attention from both policymakers and academics. Despite a substantial theoretical and empirical literature, evidence regarding the impact of IPR protection on innovation and economic growth is mixed. In this paper we conduct a literature review and meta-analysis of the topic, and find that IPR have an overall positive effect on innovation and growth. However, the effect on innovation is weaker in developing countries than developed countries. We also find that the effects reported in the literature depend to a great extent on individual studies' methodological characteristics.