IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uct/uconnp/1996-06.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Stop Crying over Spilt Knowledge: A Critical Look at the Theory of Spillovers and Technical Change

Author

Listed:
  • Richard N. Langlois

    (University of Connecticut)

  • Paul L. Robertson

    (University of New South Wales)

Abstract

This essay analyzes critically the idea of knowledge spillovers, especially as it enters the New Growth Theory. The conventional theory of spillovers, we argue, suffers from a thin and misleading account of the nature of productive knowledge. In this model, firms undersupply R&D, which impedes economic growth and calls for research subsidies. We argue, by contrast, that a more subtle picture of the creation of knowledge, and the presence of network externalities (including true Marshallian external economies), tend to reverse the predictions of neoclassical theory: spillovers may actually lead to increases in the production of new knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard N. Langlois & Paul L. Robertson, 1996. "Stop Crying over Spilt Knowledge: A Critical Look at the Theory of Spillovers and Technical Change," Working papers 1996-06, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:1996-06
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://media.economics.uconn.edu/working/1996-06.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Havas, Attila, 2010. "Diversity in firms’ innovation strategies and activities: Main findings of interviews and implications in the context of the Hungarian national," MPRA Paper 55852, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Laranja, Manuel & Uyarra, Elvira & Flanagan, Kieron, 2008. "Policies for science, technology and innovation: Translating rationales into regional policies in a multi-level setting," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 823-835, June.
    3. Garzarelli, Giampaolo & Limam, Yasmina Reem & Thomassen, Bjørn, 2007. "Open Source Software and Economic Growth: A Classical Division of Labor Perspective," MPRA Paper 3849, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Boschma, Ron A., 1999. "The rise of clusters of innovative industries in Belgium during the industrial epoch," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(8), pages 853-871, November.
    5. Jonatan Paton & Jaime Del Castillo & Belen Barroeta, 2014. "Regional Economic Transformation: The role of clusters in specialised diversification," ERSA conference papers ersa14p392, European Regional Science Association.
    6. Guo, Jingjing & Guo, Bin & Zhou, Jianghua & Wu, Xiaobo, 2020. "How does the ambidexterity of technological learning routine affect firm innovation performance within industrial clusters? The moderating effects of knowledge attributes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    7. Vladimir Komarov, 2012. "Main Principles of Innovation Theory," Published Papers 173, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, revised 2013.
    8. Havas, Attila, 2007. "The Interplay between Innovation and Production Systems at Various Levels: The case of the Hungarian automotive industry," MPRA Paper 52744, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Santos, Antonio Bob, 2015. "Open Innovation in clusters: The Portuguese case," MPRA Paper 70032, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. J. Rajendran Pandian & Paul L. Robertson, 2003. "Why look for a mirage when you already have an oasis?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 325-334.
    11. Paul L. Robertson & Tony F. Yu, 2001. "Firm strategy, innovation and consumer demand: a market process approach," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4-5), pages 183-199.
    12. Juniper, James, 2007. "Philosophizing with a hammer? A critique of Mirowski's markomata informed by continental philosophy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 266-283, June.
    13. PEREIRA, Orlando P. & COUTINHO, Maria Manuela C., 2009. "Knowledge Society And The Challenges To University Teaching: Application To Portugal," Estudios Economicos de Desarrollo Internacional, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 9(2), pages 107-124.
    14. Firth, Lucy & Mellor, David, 2000. "Learning and the new growth theories: policy dilemma," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(9), pages 1157-1163, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:1996-06. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Mark McConnel (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deuctus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.