Efficiency analysis on the consumption of software piracy in OECD countries

Abstract

This paper focuses on one of the topics of copyright economics: the study of software piracy and its determinants. The efficiency of OECD countries regarding the consumption of illegal software is analyzed. In this vein, efficiency is associated with the minimal consumption of software piracy according to the socioeconomic characteristics of a nation. Data Envelopment Analysis is the methodology employed, which assigns an efficiency score to the countries in order to establish a ranking of efficiency. Additionally, a relationship is established between the legal origin of the copyright law of a country and its efficiency level. The results of the efficiency analysis show that the efficient countries are Austria, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Slovakia; this leads to the affirmation that the countries with lower levels of piracy are not always efficient. According to the legal origin of copyright law, countries with a German origin are the most efficient. Consequently, the efficiency score is not related to the level of software piracy but to the legal origin.