Endogenous imitation and endogenous growth in a North-South model: A theoretical analysis

This paper presents a modified version of the North-South endogenous imitation model of Grossman and Helpman [Grossman, G., Helpman, E., 1991b. Endogenous product cycles. The Economic Journal 101, 1241-1229] based on the product variety framework. We show that a tighter Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection in the South leads to an increase in the rate of innovation in the North in the steady state equilibrium. We also analyse some transitional dynamic properties of this modified model and derive comparative dynamic effects on the North-South relative wage with respect to changes in the IPR protection parameter. We also focus on the welfare effects of the policy of IPR strengthening. The South may have a welfare gain in this model when the IPR protection policy is strengthened. This result is different from that obtained in Helpman [Helpman, E., 1993. Innovation, imitation, and intellectual property rights. Econometrica 61(6), 1247-1280] model where IPR strengthening causes welfare loss of the South.