Effects of Copyrights on Science: Evidence from the WWII Book Republication Program
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Barbara Biasi
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Petra Moser
- American Economic Journal: Microeconomics (Forthcoming)
Abstract
Copyrights, which establish intellectual property in music, science, and other creative goods,
are intended to encourage creativity. Yet, copyrights also raise the cost of accessing existing
work— potentially discouraging future innovation. This paper uses an exogenous shift
towards weak copyrights (and low access costs) during WWII to examine the potentially
adverse effects of copyrights on science. Using two alternative identification strategies, we
show that weaker copyrights encouraged the creation of follow-on science, measured by
citations. This change is driven by a reduction in access costs, allowing scientists at less
affluent institutions to use existing knowledge in new follow-on research.
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