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Teaching locals new tricks: Foreign experts as a channel of knowledge transfers

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Author Info
Markusen, James R.
Trofimenko, Natalia

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Abstract

Gains from productivity and knowledge transmission arising from the presence of foreign firms have received a good deal of empirical attention, but theoretical micro-foundations for this mechanism are limited. Here we develop a model in which foreign experts may train domestic workers who work with them. Hypotheses are generated under the assumptions that workers learn from experts (the effect of using an expert is not strictly temporary) and that this learning is embodied in the workers rather than in the firm. We use fixed effects and nearest neighbor matching estimators on a panel of plant-level data for Colombia that identifies the use of foreign experts, to show that these experts have substantial and persistent positive effects (though not always immediate) on the wages of domestic workers and on the value added per worker.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Development Economics.

Volume (Year): 88 (2009)
Issue (Month): 1 (January)
Pages: 120-131
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Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:88:y:2009:i:1:p:120-131

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Related research
Keywords: F4 O19 O47 Productivity Transmission mechanism Learning Spillovers Foreign experts;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Fosfuri, Andrea & Motta, Massimo & Ronde, Thomas, 2001. "Foreign direct investment and spillovers through workers' mobility," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 205-222, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Rodriguez-Clare, Andres, 1996. "Multinationals, Linkages, and Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 852-73, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Arnold, Jens & Smarzynska Javorcik, Beata, 2005. "Gifted Kids or Pushy Parents? Foreign Acquisitions and Plant Performance in Indonesia," CEPR Discussion Papers 5065, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Cahuc, Pierre & Gianella, Christian & Goux, Dominique & Zylberberg, André, 2002. "Equalizing Wage Differences and Bargaining Power: Evidence from a Panel of French Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 582, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  6. Markusen, James R. & Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Foreign direct investment as a catalyst for industrial development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 335-356, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Aitken, Brian & Harrison, Ann & Lipsey, Robert E., 1996. "Wages and foreign ownership A comparative study of Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-4), pages 345-371, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Glass, Amy Jocelyn & Saggi, Kamal, 2002. " Multinational Firms and Technology Transfer," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 104(4), pages 495-513, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Ethier, Wilfred J. & Markusen, James R., 1996. "Multinational firms, technology diffusion and trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1-2), pages 1-28, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Berry, Albert & Escandon, Jose, 1994. "Colombia's small and medium-size exporters and their support systems," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1401, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  11. Beata Smarzynska Javorcik, 2004. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers Through Backward Linkages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 605-627, June. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Wolfgang Keller, 1997. "Are International R&D Spillovers Trade-Related? Analyzing Spillovers Among Randomly Matched Trade Partners," NBER Working Papers 6065, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Keller, Wolfgang, 2000. "Do Trade Patterns and Technology Flows Affect Productivity Growth?," World Bank Economic Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 17-47, January.
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  14. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 1999. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 605-618, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
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  1. Roberto Alvarez & Ricardo A. López, 2008. "Is Exporting a Source of Productivity Spillovers?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 144(4), pages 723-749, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj & Markusen, James R. & Schjerning, Bertel, 2007. "Foreign Firms, Domestic Wages," CEPR Discussion Papers 6292, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Zakharenko, Roman, 2007. "Migration, Learning, and Development," MPRA Paper 6262, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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