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Growth Accounting for a Follower-Economy in a World of Ideas: The Example of Singapore

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Author Info
Kong Weng Ho () (School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University)
Hian Teck Hoon () (School of Economics and Social Sciences, Singapore Management University)

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Abstract

In this paper, we take another approach to accounting for the sources of Singapore’s economic growth by being explicit about the channels through which Singapore, as a technological follower, benefits from international R&D spillovers. Taking into account the channels through which technology developed in the G5 countries diffuses to technological followers, we show that 57.5 percent of Singapore’s real GDP per worker growth rate over the 1970-2002 period is due to multifactor productivity growth. In particular, about 52 percent of the growth is accounted for by an increase in the effectiveness of accessing ideas developed by the technology leaders through improvement in our educational quality and increase in machinery imports and foreign direct investment from the G5 countries. We also find that capital accumulation that takes the form of imports of machinery as well as foreign direct investment from the G5 countries enhances the effectiveness of technology transfer thus raising the rate of return to capital. Compared to the rate of return to capital inferred from the traditional Solow growth model with purely exogenous technological progress of 10.8 percent, taking into account the technology transfer channel raises the implied rate of return to 13 percent.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Singapore Management University, School of Economics in its series Working Papers with number 15-2006.

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Length: 61 pages
Date of creation: Jun 2006
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Publication status: Published in SMU Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series
Handle: RePEc:siu:wpaper:15-2006

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Related research
Keywords: technological diffusion; idea production function; multifactor productivity growth;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies
O33 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
O47 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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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.:
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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  3. Alwyn Young, 1992. "A Tale of Two Cities: Factor Accumulation and Technical Change in Hong Kong and Singapore," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1992, Volume 7, pages 13-64 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Gang Gong & Alfred Greiner & Willi Semmler, 2004. "Endogenous Growth: Estimating the Romer Model for the US and Germany," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 66(2), pages 147-164, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Charles I. Jones, 2002. "Sources of U.S. Economic Growth in a World of Ideas," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 220-239, March. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Douglas Gollin, 2002. "Getting Income Shares Right," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(2), pages 458-474, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Hiau Looi Kee, 2004. "Estimating Productivity When Primal and Dual TFP Accounting Fail: An Illustration Using Singapore's Industries," Topics in Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1193-1193. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Barro, Robert J & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 1997. " Technological Diffusion, Convergence, and Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Young, Alwyn, 1995. "The Tyranny of Numbers: Confronting the Statistical Realities of the East Asian Growth Experience," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 110(3), pages 641-80, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, 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. Hian Teck Hoon & Kong Weng Ho, 2007. "Distance to Frontier and the Big Swings of the Unemployment Rate: What Room is Left for Monetary Policy?," Kiel Working Papers 1347, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
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