> I've challenged people who say this to provide some sort of evidence that patent systems aid innovation and seen none that was anywhere near convincing so far.
You've been challenging people who haven't looked enough :-) For one, Kenneth Sokoloff (mentioned in TFA) authored some of the highest cited studies that show the benefits of patent systems.
You are right that measuring the effect of patents on innovation in terms of patents is somewhat circular, but economists have long realized this. There are now tons of historical and empirical studies showing increased patenting being correlated with improved metrics of innovation as measured by various proxies such as R&D expenditure, diversity of industries doing research, VC financing for startups, employee growth, and even economic well-being. Of course, there are costs of the patent system as well, and various studies that attempt to quantify those.
Instead of pointing to dozens of individual studies, it'd be easier to point you to this meta-study that references a number of those other articles:
"RECENT RESEARCH ON THE ECONOMICS OF PATENTS", Bronwyn H. Hall and Dietmar Harhoff (Google for PDF)
You've been challenging people who haven't looked enough :-) For one, Kenneth Sokoloff (mentioned in TFA) authored some of the highest cited studies that show the benefits of patent systems.
You are right that measuring the effect of patents on innovation in terms of patents is somewhat circular, but economists have long realized this. There are now tons of historical and empirical studies showing increased patenting being correlated with improved metrics of innovation as measured by various proxies such as R&D expenditure, diversity of industries doing research, VC financing for startups, employee growth, and even economic well-being. Of course, there are costs of the patent system as well, and various studies that attempt to quantify those.
Instead of pointing to dozens of individual studies, it'd be easier to point you to this meta-study that references a number of those other articles:
"RECENT RESEARCH ON THE ECONOMICS OF PATENTS", Bronwyn H. Hall and Dietmar Harhoff (Google for PDF)