The Welfare Effects of Gender-Inclusive Intellectual Property Creation: Evidence from Books
Abstract
Women have traditionally participated in intellectual property creation at depressed rates relative to men. Book authorship is now an exception: women now publish more than half of new books. Adding new products can have significant welfare benefits, particularly when product quality is unpredictable. Growth in female-authored books has delivered substantial increases in the female-authored shares of consumption, book awards, and other measures of success, indicating that the additional female-authored books are useful to consumers. The welfare benefit from gender-inclusive innovation is large and accrues to a wide range of consumers.