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ICT as a general purpose technology: spillovers, absorptive capacity and productivity performance

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  • Francesco Venturini
  • Ana Rincon-Aznar
  • Dr Michela Vecchi

Abstract

We analyse the impact of ICT spillovers on productivity using company data for the U.S. We account for inter- and intra-industry spillovers and assess the role played by firm’s absorptive capacity. Our results show that intra-industry ICT spillovers have a contemporaneous negative effect that turns positive 5 years after the initial investment. For inter-industry spillovers both contemporaneous and lagged effects are positive and significant. In the short run, companies’ innovative effort is complementary to ICT spillovers, but such complementarity disappears with the more pervasive adoption and diffusion of the technology.

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  • Francesco Venturini & Ana Rincon-Aznar & Dr Michela Vecchi, 2013. "ICT as a general purpose technology: spillovers, absorptive capacity and productivity performance," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 416, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:nsr:niesrd:416
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    4. Jorge Antonio Rodríguez-Moreno & María Engracia Rochina-Barrachina, 2019. "ICT Use, Investments in R&D and Workers’ Training, Firms’ Productivity and Markups: The Case of Ecuadorian Manufacturing," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 1063-1106, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity; ICT Spillovers; Absorptive Capacity; R&D;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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