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Software Piracy and Scientific Publications: Knowledge Economy Evidence from Africa
Author(s) -
Asongu Simplice A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
african development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.654
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1467-8268
pISSN - 1017-6772
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8268.12113
Subject(s) - nexus (standard) , intellectual property , sociology of scientific knowledge , economics , political science , engineering , sociology , law , social science , embedded system
This paper is an extension of the debate on the nexus between the strength of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and prospects for knowledge economy. It assesses the relationships between software piracy and scientific publications in African countries for which data is available. The findings, which reveal a positive nexus, are broadly consistent with the school of thought postulating that the East Asian miracle has been largely due to weaker IPRs regimes at the early stages of development. As a policy implication, less stringent IPRs regimes on scientific‐related software (at least in the short run) will substantially boost contributions to and dissemination of knowledge through scientific and technical publications in Africa. IPRs laws (treaties) on scientific‐oriented software should be strengthened in tandem with progress in: (a) scientific and technical publications; and (b) knowledge spillovers essential for economic growth and development. More policy implications are discussed.