The quest for evidence on the economic effects of copyright law

Authors: Towse, R.

Journal: Cambridge Journal of Economics

Volume: 37

Issue: 5

Pages: 1187-1202

eISSN: 1464-3545

ISSN: 0309-166X

DOI: 10.1093/cje/bet014

Abstract:

The requirement by the UK government for evidence-based policy has recently been applied to copyright law in the context of I. Hargreaves's report, Digital Opportunity: Review of Intellectual Property and Growth (Newport, Intellectual Property Office, 2011). In this article, I focus on data that have been used to make the case for copyright with government, but it is argued that this does not produce the evidence that is needed for policy purposes. The problem facing economists in providing such evidence is discussed in detail in connection with Hargreaves' proposal for a digital copyright exchange. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Source: Scopus

Preferred by: Ruth Towse