Do Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Increase International Technology Transfer?: Empirical Evidence from U.S. Firm-Level Panel Data

This paper examines how technology transfer within U.S. multinational firms changes in response to a series of IPR reforms undertaken by 16 countries over the 1982-1999 period. Analysis of detailed firm-level data reveals that royalty payments for intangibles transferred to affiliates increase at the time of reforms, as do affiliate R&D expenditures and total levels of foreign patent applications. Increases in royalty payments and R&D expenditures are concentrated among and exceed 30% for affiliates of parent companies that use U.S. patents more extensively prior to reform and are therefore expected to value IPR reform most.