Against Intellectual Monopoly

"Intellectual property" - patents and copyrights - have become controversial. We witness teenagers being sued for "pirating" music - and we observe AIDS patients in Africa dying due to lack of ability to pay for drugs that are high priced to satisfy patent holders. Are patents and copyrights essential to thriving creation and innovation - do we need them so that we all may enjoy fine music and good health? Across time and space the resounding answer is: No. So-called intellectual property is in fact an "intellectual monopoly" that hinders rather than helps the competitive free market regime that has delivered wealth and innovation to our doorsteps. This book has broad coverage of both copyrights and patents and is designed for a general audience, focusing on simple examples. The authors conclude that the only sensible policy to follow is to eliminate the patents and copyright systems as they currently exist.

Author: Michele Boldrin, David K. Levine
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 01/25/2010
Pages: 308
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.93lbs
Size: 8.98h x 6.34w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780521127264

About the Author
Boldrin, Michele: - Michele Boldrin is Joseph G. Hoyt Distinguished Professor of Economics in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St Louis. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (London) and at FEDEA (Madrid). He is an Associate Editor of Econometrica, an Editor of the Review of Economic Dynamics, and an Advisory Editor of Macroeconomic Dynamics, published by Cambridge University Press. His research interests include growth, innovation, and business cycles; intergenerational and demographic issues; public policy; institutions; and social norms. He is the coauthor or coeditor of four books and has published in leading journals such as the American Economic Review, Econometrica, the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Economic Theory, the Review of Economic Dynamics, the Journal of Monetary Economics, and the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control.Levine, David K.: - David K. Levine is John H. Biggs Distinguished Professor of Economics in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St Louis. He is a coeditor of Econometrica, coeditor of NAJ Economics, President of the Society for Economic Dynamics, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau for Economic Research. Author with Drew Fudenberg of Learning in Games and editor of several conference volumes, his research interests include the study of intellectual property and endogenous growth in dynamic general equilibrium models; the endogenous formation of preferences, institutions, and social norms; and the application of game theory to experimental economics. Professor Levine has published in leading journals such as the American Economic Review, Econometrica, the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Economic Theory, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the American Political Science Review.

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