Intellectual Property Rights and Agricultural Development: Evidence from a Worldwide Index of IPRs in Agriculture (1961-2018)

This paper revises and updates the Campi-Nuvolari index of intellectual property protection for plant varieties. The new index provides yearly scores for the period 1961–2018 for 104 countries, which have legislation on plant variety protection in force. The new evidence highlights the ongoing shift towards more similar and stronger systems of intellectual property rights (IPRs) worldwide, regardless of individual characteristics of countries. The signing of the TRIPS and trade agreements with TRIPS-Plus provisions are major drivers of this process. In addition, certain characteristics of countries such as the regulatory environment, the level of human capital, the importance of agricultural production, and openness to trade, are also significant determinants of the evolution of IPRs systems. We conclude by discussing other possible applications of the data

Biotecnología y desarrollo

Incluye BibliografíaLa irrupción de la biotecnología aplicada a diversas actividades productivas impacta, crecientemente, sobre los senderos previos de desarrollo de los países latinoamericanos. Por sus rasgos intrínsecos, la biotecnología -"industria de bienes de capital de la sociedad del conocimiento"- abre nuevos espacios de intercambio público-privado a nivel científico, tecnológico y productivo; bajo ciertas condiciones (umbrales mínimos de conocimiento, facilidades técnicas y productivas, derechos de propiedad, desarrollo de las actividades "aguas abajo", control de los activos complementarios); estos nuevos espacios de intercambio generan o potencian mercados a partir de los cuales es factible captar rentas adicionales. El presente trabajo analiza los efectos y posibilidades de la biotecnología moderna sobre el sendero de desarrollo de los principales países de la región. Para ello se delinean los rasgos centrales de esta tecnología y sus impactos sobre los procesos productivos, así como, también, la dinámica reciente que tienen las aplicaciones de estas tecnologías en la producción en los países desarrollados, poniendo énfasis en las mega-corporaciones de la biotecnología. Asimismo, se realiza un análisis de los principales desarrollos biotecnológicos en los países latinoamericanos, que incluye una revisión de los esfuerzos públicos y de los incipientes desarrollos privados (con su aplicación a algunas actividades productivas relevantes);. Por último, el trabajo se completa con una serie de reflexiones acerca de las posibilidades (y limitaciones); que plantean estas tecnologías para los países de la región

How do countries specialize in agricultural production? A complex network analysis of the global agricultural product space

Using a complex-network perspective, this paper empirically explores the determinants of the process through which countries, given their capabilities, specialize in agricultural production. Using production data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the period 1993-2013, we characterize the agricultural production space as a time-sequence of bipartite networks, connecting countries to the agricultural products they produce. We then project this representation in the agricultural production spaces, linking countries or products according to their similarity in production profiles, and we identify properties and determinants underlying their evolution. We find that, despite the unprecedented pressure that food systems have been undergoing in recent years, the agricultural production space is a very dense network displaying well-defined and stable communities of countries and products. We also show that the observed country community structures are not only shaped by environmental conditions, but also by economic, socio-political, and technological factors. We conclude by discussing the implications of such findings on our understanding of the complex relationships involving production capabilities and specialization patterns.Fil: Campi, Mercedes Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Dueñas, Marco. Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano; ColombiaFil: Fagiolo, Giorgio. Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna; Itali

Intellectual property rights, imitation, and development. The effect on cross-border mergers and acquisitions

In this paper, we analyze whether the recent global process of strengthening and harmonization of intellectual property rights (IPRs) affects decisions of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). We investigate if IPRs have a differential effect across sectors of different technology content and for countries of different development level. Also, we study how imitation abilities of target countries interact with the tightening of IPRs. Using data for the post-TRIPS period (1995-2010), we estimate an extended gravity model to study the bilateral number of M&As, including a measure of the strength of IPRs systems on target countries and a set of control variables usually considered as determinants of M&As. The estimation results verify the gravity structure for M&As and show that IPRs -and enforcement- influence decisions of cross-border M&As in all sectors regardless of their technological content. However, IPRs are more important in countries with high imitation abilities and in sectors of high-technology content. Furthermore, a strengthening of IPRs leads to a larger increase of M&As in developing countries than in developed countries. These results call the attention on the possible implications for least developed economies and challenge the adequacy of a globally harmonized IPRs systems

Changes in mobility and socioeconomic conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak

Since the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, governments have been implementing containment measures aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus, including restrictions to human mobility. The ability to adapt to the pandemic and respond to containment measures can be bound by socioeconomic conditions, which are heterogeneous in large urban areas of low-income and middle-income countries. In this paper, we analyse mobility changes following the implementation of containment measures in Bogotá, Colombia. We characterise the mobility network before and during the pandemic and analyse its evolution and changes between January and July 2020. We observe a general reduction in mobility trends, but the overall connectivity between different areas of the city remains after the lockdown, reflecting the resilience of the mobility network. Then, we estimate a gravity model to assess the effect of socioeconomic conditions on mobility flows. We find that the responses to lockdown policies depend on the socioeconomic conditions of the population. Before the pandemic, the population with better socioeconomic conditions shows higher mobility flows. Since the lockdown, mobility presents a general decrease, but the population with worse socioeconomic conditions shows lower reductions in mobility flows. We conclude by deriving policy implications.Fil: Dueñas, Marco. Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano; ColombiaFil: Campi, Mercedes Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Olmos, Luis E.. University of California; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Medellin; Colombi

Cambio de paradigmas, revolución biológica y realidad local : La agricultura argentina del siglo XXI

Las nuevas formas de organización de la producción agrícola, particularmente en cuanto se refiere a los granos y semillas oleaginosas ha experimentado, en las últimas dos décadas, profundos cambios, tanto en los procedimientos de cultivo como en la naturaleza de las semillas empleadas y en la forma de organización de los diversos factores involucrados en el proceso productivo.Academia Nacional de Agronomía y Veterinari

Do creative industries enhance employment growth? Regional evidence from Colombia

Do creative industries have positive spillovers for the local economy in middle-income countries, for instance by attracting creative workers who benefit entrepreneurs and workers in other industries? Creative industries are considered highly innovative and productive and several studies in high-income countries have revealed such spillovers. However, the institutional and economic settings in middle-income countries may not be as conducive to them. Creative industries represented between 2.7 and 3.3 percent of Colombian employment in 2008 and 2017. Using granular employment data, we study their agglomeration patterns between 2008 and 2017. We find agglomeration in the largest cities (Bogota, Medellın, and Cartagena) and in a few smaller cities. Using methodologies from prior studies yields a positive relationship between creative industry agglomeration and employment in non-creative services industries. However, after controlling for endogeneity using a shift-share instrumental variable approach, we find, contrary to analyses of high-income countries, no significant impact of an increase of creative industries employment on employment growth in other industries