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Organizing Growth

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  • Luis Garicano
  • Esteban Rossi-Hansberg

Abstract

We study the impact of information and communication technology on growth through its impact on organization and innovation. Agents accumulate knowledge through two activities: innovation (discovering new technologies) and exploitation (learning how to use the current technology). Exploitation requires the development of organizations to coordinate the work of experts, which takes time. The costs and benefits of such organizations depend on the cost of communicating and acquiring information. We find that while advances in information technology that lower information acquisition costs always increase growth, improvements in communication technology may lead to lower growth and even to stagnation, as the payoff to exploiting innovations through organizations increases relative to the payoff of new radical innovations.

Suggested Citation

  • Luis Garicano & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2007. "Organizing Growth," NBER Working Papers 13705, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13705
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Garicano & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2015. "Knowledge-Based Hierarchies: Using Organizations to Understand the Economy," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 1-30, August.
    2. Lorenzo Caliendo & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2012. "The Impact of Trade on Organization and Productivity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1393-1467.
    3. Nicholas Bloom & Raffaella Sadun, 2012. "The Organization of Firms Across Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(4), pages 1663-1705.
    4. Acemoglu, Daron, 2012. "Introduction to economic growth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 147(2), pages 545-550.
    5. Berlingieri, Giuseppe, 2013. "Outsourcing and the rise in services," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51532, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Cécile Cezanne & Laurence Saglietto, 2016. "Human Capital-Intensive Firms and 4PLs: A Specific Partnership," Journal of Economics and Management, College of Business, Feng Chia University, Taiwan, vol. 12(1), pages 61-83, February.
    7. Umberto Garfagnini & Bruno Strulovici, 2012. "Social Learning and Innovation Cycles (revision of DP#1516, The Dynamics of Innovation)," Discussion Papers 1546, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
    8. Amira Bouziri & Marc-arthur Diaye, 2014. "A Test of Garicano's Knowledge Model," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 34(3), pages 1448-1455.
    9. Kredler, Matthias, 2014. "Experience vs. obsolescence: A vintage-human-capital model," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 709-739.
    10. Andrew F. Newman & Patrick Legros, 2011. "Incomplete Contracts and Industrial Organization: A Survey," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2011-036, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    11. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal & Peter Nijkamp, 2013. "Human capital use, innovation, patent protection, and economic growth in multiple regions," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 113-126, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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