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Growth contributions of technological change: Is there a burden of knowledge effect?

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  • Callaghan, Christian William

Abstract

Burden of knowledge perspectives suggest returns to investments in research decline over time, notwithstanding technological change. Given countervailing theoretical predictions, components of innovative capability, namely a country's total research and development expenditure as well as its technological and scientific output, are tested for contributions to per capita growth. To do so, longitudinal data is tested across the years 2003 to 2016 for 78 countries to derive generalizable insights. Scientific output has a U-shaped relationship with growth for countries above a threshold quantile level of growth. Innovative capability components have no time trend with growth. Overall, findings offer some support for burden of knowledge perspectives that question assumptions that innovative capability is necessarily associated with growth across most countries of the world.

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  • Callaghan, Christian William, 2021. "Growth contributions of technological change: Is there a burden of knowledge effect?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:172:y:2021:i:c:s0040162521005084
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121076
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