疊代模型中的最適智慧財產權保護

THE OPTIMAL DEGREE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTION IN AN OVERLAPPING-GENERATIONS MODEL

Kwan and Lai （2003）在代表性個人的總體架構下，探討最適的智慧財產權保護。本文利用疊代模型分析最適的智慧財產權保護，我們發現：增強智慧財產權的保護相當於將年輕人的財富移轉一部分給年長者，因此，增加對智慧財產權的保護將擴大跨代間的財富差異並壓低整體社會的福利，導致疊代模型中最適的智慧財產權保護低於代表性個人模型。Kwan and Lai （2003）在代表性個人的總體架構下，忽略智慧財產保護對跨代財富差異的影響，高估了最適的智慧財產保護。

Kwan and Lai (2003) obtain the optimal degree of intellectual property rights protection (IPRP) in a representative-agent model. This paper analyzes the welfare effect of intellectual property rights protection in an overlapping-generations model. It is shown that a rise in IPRP implies that the wealth is transferred from the younger to the older generations; thus it expands the wealth gap among various generations and reduces the social welfare. The optimal degree of IPRP in the overlapping-generations model is lower than that in the representative-agent model. Kwan and Lai (2003) ignore the intergenerational wealth gap effect of IPRP and overestimate the optimal degree of IPRP.