Contracts, intellectual property rights, and multinational investment in developing countries

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Markusen, JR
• 署名单位: University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-1996(00)00058-1
• 发表日期: 2001
• 页码: 189-204
• 关键词: Contracts; Intellectual property rights; multinational investment; Developing countries

摘要

The policy debate between multinational firms favoring strong contract law, and host-country governments who often oppose such protection motivates the paper. Local agents (managers) learn the multinational's technology and can defect to start a rival firm. Contract enforcement, including binding the multinational itself, makes the multinational better off. Outcomes for the host country are more complex, depending on mode switches induced by enforcement. If enforcement induces the multinational to switch from exporting to local production, welfare improves. If local production was occurring anyway, enforcement may result in the loss of rents to local agents and lower welfare. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.