Econ 444 - Innovation and Intellectual Property: Theory and Practice

Institution:

Washington University in St Louis

Subject:

Description:

Innovation-figuring out better and cheaper ways of satisfying human desires-is the key to improving our well-being. It is not patient saving and accumulation that makes us so much better off than we used to be: capital accumulation is only the conduit through which the innovation juices flow. The question is: What drives it? How come some societies are apparently much more innovative than others? How come we have the impression that most useful inventions took place in the past three centuries? Are there policies that help fostering innovation and others that hurt? The course tries to address these questions. Economists have many theories of innovation, some better than others. We look at the theories, we examine the facts (past and present), then we go back to the theories and reconsider their explanatory power. With this background, we approach the debate about intellectual property, what it is and what it is not good for, whose interests it serves, and whose well-being it thwarts. Prerequisite: Econ 4011 (401).

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.wustl.edu

Phone Number:

(314) 935-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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