Trade secrets protection and employment of public firms: Evidence from the Uniform Trade Secrets Act

Authors

• Andrew Yizhou Liu, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2025

Keywords

Trade secrets protection, Firm employment growth, UTSA, Vacancy postings

Abstract

I demonstrate that the adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) results in a 5.1% increase in employment among public firms in Compustat. The effects are concentrated in firms with below-median initial employment, higher debt costs, and greater potential for knowledge spillovers. R&D expenditures and the accumulation of intangible assets emerge as key drivers of these employment effects. An analysis of labor demand reveals a 9.4% rise in vacancy postings, particularly for skilled workers, following UTSA adoption. Counties with higher initial exposure to public firms' labor demand experience declines in unemployment rates, underscoring the UTSA's non-uniform impact on local labor markets and employment growth.

Comments

Web of Science

Elsevier

Citation

Andrew Yizhou Liu, Trade secrets protection and employment of public firms: Evidence from the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Research Policy, Volume 54, Issue 6, 2025, 105243, ISSN 0048-7333, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2025.105243.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.