Final answer:
The cost of trade secret theft or misappropriation for the world's top 40 economies is less than 1% of their GDP each year, despite individual instances such as China's intellectual property theft costing billions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Trade secret theft or misappropriation costs the world’s richest 40 nations approximately how much of their gross domestic product, or GDP, each year? The correct answer is d) Less than 1%. In the broader context of the global economy, which currently produces over $80 trillion in goods and services annually, the increase in costs due to trade secret theft is relatively low, amounting to less than 1% of GDP. However, as noted, even a small percentage of such a significant total can amount to a substantial sum, and the implications stretch beyond monetary losses to include potential losses in technology, skills, and competitive advantages.
The example of China's intellectual property theft, which costs United States innovators billions of dollars each year and accounts for a predominant share of counterfeit goods, illustrates the severity of the issue. Nonetheless, the aggregate cost to the top 40 economies remains below the 1% GDP threshold.