At First Patents Might Seem Like a Deterrent to Growth

question 25

Essay

At first patents might seem like a deterrent to growth because in effect they restrict the use of new technology. Yet many economists believe that patents generate growth. Explain why.

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Definitions:

Sampling Distribution

The sampling distribution is a probability distribution of a statistic obtained by selecting all possible samples of a specific size from a population.

Sampling Distribution

A probability distribution of a statistic obtained from a large number of samples drawn from a specific population.

Mean

The average of a set of numbers, calculated by dividing the sum of all the values by the number of values.

Central Limit Theorem

Theorem stating that sample means are approximately normally distributed for an infinite number of random samples drawn from a population.