Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Many argue that Europe has performed anemically as it struggles to recover from the global crisis. But, Anders Aslund argues that although Europe is an institutional half-way house, the East European countries have masterfully handled the crisis. The Last Shall Be the First: East European Financial Crisis isolates the causes of the crisis in Eastern Europe, charts the crisis resolution actions of major international institutions, and advances solutions in the region's recovery phase. Specifically, Aslund examines the eruption and resolution of the crisis in the Baltics, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria. In addition to his focus on individual countries, he also considers the broader implications of the European crisis, and asks why the social and regulatory environment of central Europe enabled it to recover more easily.
Synopsis
Intellectual property rights (IPRs)--patents, copyrights, and trademarks--have moved from an arcane area of legal analysis and a policy backwater to the forefront of global economic policymaking. Apple and Samsung's patent battle illustrates the importance of IPRs and how they impact everyone. Private Rights and Public Problems is a completed update of the seminal, oft-cited 2000 study, Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Economy. This new book documents the remarkable global changes in IPRs policies that have taken place since the founding of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and analyzes both the benefits and costs of the global IPRs system.
Does stronger IPRs protection increase incentives for innovation and raise returns to international technology transfer or does it raise the cost of acquiring new technology and products? Have the changes benefited technology producers or technology consumers? Do these policies help or hinder the transfer of key technologies used to address critical global public needs, such as essential medicines, green technologies, bio-engineered seed varieties, products made from genetic resources, and scientific and educational materials? The book examines these issues through an analysis of the economic effects of extended international protection and partial harmonization of IPRs. Ultimately, it argues that the global IPRs system stands at a fundamental crossroad, facing more challenges than ever before. It makes several suggestions for improving the efficiency and fairness of the newly globalized system in the near future, if the political will can be found.
Synopsis
In his follow-up to one of the most popular PIIE titles of all time, Keith Maskus looks at the expansion of private legal rights into international trade markets, not only for technological items but also for international public goods like vaccines and prescription drugs. Private Rights and Public Problems assesses IPR issues for users, producers, and innovators and the difficulty of establishing an international policy regime that governs IPRs in all markets. Maskus explores if increased privacy regulations limit innovation and pose artificial and real barriers, such as decreased information accessibility and increased cost. This book addresses a fundamental issue: should basic scientific and technological knowledge be commoditized? In this guide to the current global impact of IPRs, the author analyzes the economic contribution of IPRs' underlying features: innovation and access to international technologies.