Economists Often Say History Is Irrelevant. That’s A Mistake

The video discusses the relevance of historical events to modern times, focusing on the impact of patent laws on innovation. It highlights the need for alternative data to study these effects and examines how patent systems influence innovation types and levels. A case study of Italy's legal changes illustrates the impact on creativity. The video concludes by comparing copyrights and patents, emphasizing the need for more research on copyrights due to their policy relevance in the digital age.

What is the relevance of studying events that occurred 150 years ago in today's context?

How do differences across industries affect the application of historical results to contemporary policy?

What alternative data did the researcher create to study the effects of patent law on innovation?

In what ways do strong intellectual property rights impact innovation and creativity?

What were the effects of adopting a patent system on the type of innovations produced by a country?

How did the political changes in Italy during the 19th century affect copyright laws?

Why is it important to differentiate between patents and copyrights in the context of policy research?