Document Type
Thesis
First Faculty Advisor
Xiaofei Pan
Keywords
Agent-Based Modeling ; Wealth Concentration ; Intellectual Property
Publisher
Bryant University
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND license.
Abstract
Wealth concentration can be attributed to factors such as capital accumulation and income inequality. Overtime this can result in inequality in access to educational and healthcare and increase crime. Some researchers have studied patent law’s effect on wealth concentration, but its far reaching consequences leave many unknowns. My study shows a more active market of secondhand machinery reduces overall wealth concentration. This aligns with the research showing longer patent windows raise the cost of accumulating capital and reduce capital accumulation for unwealthy populations. Results from my simulation revealed a lower rate of depreciation allowed a strong secondhand capital market to form. This allowed unwealthy agents to afford capital. These results suggest increasing a patent closer to the technology’s date of obsolescence will increase wealth concentration. Expanding the model used in this paper could help yield more answers on how wealth concentration changes under different capital ownership situations.
Comments
Aziz Berdiev, Editorial Reviewer