Effects of Copyrights on Science: Evidence from the WWII Book Republication Program
Effects of Copyrights on Science: Evidence from the WWII Book Republication Program
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版权对科学的影响：来自二战图书再版计划的证据
DOI：
10.1257/mic.20190113
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发表时间：
2021
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Petra Moser
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Barbara Biasi;Petra Moser
版权确立了音乐、科学和其他创意商品的知识产权，旨在鼓励创造力。然而，版权也提高了获取现有作品的成本，这可能会阻碍未来的创新。本文利用第二次世界大战期间向弱版权（和低访问成本）的外生转变来研究版权对科学的潜在不利影响。使用两种替代的识别策略，我们表明，较弱的版权鼓励创建后续的科学，衡量引用。这一变化是由获取成本的降低推动的，使不太富裕的机构的科学家能够在新的后续研究中使用现有知识。(JEL I23、K11、L82、N42、O34、Z11）
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 toward weak copyrights (and low access costs) during World War II 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. (JEL I23, K11, L82, N42, O34, Z11)