Who enjoys ‘TRIPs’ abroad? An empirical analysis of intellectual property rights in the Uruguay Round

Abstract.  Analysis of the Uruguay Round is extended by quantifying the impact of the TRIPs agreement. The static costs of raising the standards of patent protection are captured by the transfers of income between countries, with the majority of countries estimated to make net payments abroad, the United States being a major beneficiary. To offset these transfers the model provides estimates of the dynamic benefits from the greater incentive to innovate, revealing that there is potential for all countries to benefit from the TRIPs agreement in the long run. However, the distribution of these benefits is highly skewed towards developed countries. JEL classification: O34, F43     

Joint Cross-Section/Time-Series Maximum Likelihood Estimation for the Parameters of the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross Bond Pricing Model

We develop a joint maximum likelihood estimator for the interest rate risk premium and the parameters of the Cox, Ingersoll, and Ross bond pricing model. This new approach resolves difficulties inherent in previous approaches that use only time-series data or cross-sectional data. We apply the new approach to a large sample of joint time-series/cross-sectional data. The resulting estimated parameters explain simultaneously the changes in short-term interest rates and the prices of zero-coupon bonds with various maturities. We also identify and provide solutions to potential computational difficulties that other researchers are likely to face.     

Accessing other people’s technology for non–profit research

As patents and other forms of intellectual property become more pervasive in the next generation of biotechnologies, designing policies and practices to ensure sufficient freedom to operate (i.e., the ability to practice or use an innovation) will be crucial for non–profit research agencies, especially those intent on developing technologies destined for commercial release. Are non–profit organisations exempt from intellectual property claims? What constitutes infringement of a patent? How does a non–profit establish its freedom to operate? We address these issues in this paper and evaluate various options for accessing other people’s technologies. Options include cross–licensing agreements, research–only or cost–free licences, market segmentation strategies, mergers or joint ventures, and patent pooling or clearinghouse mechanisms. Responding creatively to the new intellectual property environment will have far reaching consequences for the future of non–profit research.     

Trade policy in a “super size me” world

When a foreign monopolist sets a single market clearing price for its product, the sign of the optimal tariff is determined by the extent of pass through (also known as the terms of trade effect). However, when a foreign monopolist employs a second degree price discrimination mechanism in the domestic market the calculus of welfare maximization is very different. While there are still terms of trade effects from the imposition of a tariff, the existence of such effects are neither necessary nor sufficient to determine the sign of the optimal tariff. Instead the distribution of valuations within the population is the key determinant of the nature of policy intervention. This result differs significantly from the uniform price case and is driven by the incentive compatibility constraint which places the distribution of types at the center of the analysis. If there is a relatively large fraction of high valuation types in the population, then domestic information rents may be increased by subsidizing imports thereby increasing the consumption of the low valuation types and moving the incentive constraint in favor of the high valuation types. However, if the share of high types in the population is relatively small then the increase in information rents will also be small but the fiscal implications of a subsidy will be large. Consequently, the optimal policy will be to impose a trade tax.     

Vacancies and Unemployment in Australia

This article examines the extent to which the Mortensen–Pissarides model of labour market search can quantitatively match business cycle fluctuations in Australia. With productivity and job‐separation‐rate shocks, the model fails to produce substantial volatility among unemployment or vacancies, a result similar to Shimer's (2005) findings for the United States. Examining a broader range of shocks significantly increases the magnitude of business cycle fluctuations, but still only explains roughly 25 per cent of labour market volatility. The implied volatility of wages in the model is similar to that in the data and hence excessive wage flexibility is unlikely to be central to the failure of the model as claimed in the literature.     

Veblen's critique of Marx's philosophical preconceptions of political economy

This paper explores some of the theoretical linkages between Thorstein Veblen and Karl Marx. Special reference is placed Veblen's criticisms of Marx and the Marxist tradition for adhering to the preconceptions of (a) the natural right of labour to the full product, and (b) the teleology of conscious agents directing action towards change. Veblen was incorrect to believe that Marx adhered to the natural right of labour thesis, but he was correct to assert that Marx utilized undesirable teleologies. Overall, however, Veblen was attempting to reformulate and modernise the materialistic conception of history through an evolutionary analysis of institutions. The two thinkers complement each other in important ways, although Veblen's analysis is more evolutionary, collectivist and holistic.     

Characteristics of Portuguese public‐sector project managers: Toward closing the effectiveness gap

Using a sample of 102 Portuguese public‐sector officials with project management experience, this study examines the characteristics of effective project managers in the Portuguese public sector. Factor‐analysis procedures are used to identify the factors related to areas of knowledge relevant to effective project management. The results appear to stress the increasing importance of people, organizational, and leadership skills in the effective management of today's complex and dynamic projects.     

Mapping and analysing virtual outcrops

Laser scanning is a very efficient way to generate realistic, high-resolution digital models of 3-D geological outcrops. This paper discusses the methodologies involved in the creation and analysis of virtual outcrops, based on laser scanner data. The visualisation of the laser scanner data as a photorealistic 3-D object is described. Geological features picked out on the virtual outcrop (e.g. fractures, faults or bedding planes) can be extrapolated outward, into space, and inward, into the subsurface, using tension surfaces.