A skeptical look at Mansfield's famous 1994 survey

Abstract

Edwin Mansfield's 1994 empirical study of American business executives for the International Finance Corporation is ubiquitously cited for the proposition that if developing countries raise their level of intellectual property protection (especially patents), they will attract foreign investment and technology transfer. This paper takes a skeptical new look at Mansfield's canonical work and concludes that the developing world should be very suspicious of the persistent claim that his landmark survey of corporate decision makers supports a maximalist implementation and enforcement strategy across all areas of intellectual property. It has been cited too frequently and read too seldom.