The role of creative innovation in economic growth: Some international comparisons

For many countries, export-driven policies have thus far produced dramatic increases in real per capita income. At the same time, sustainable growth requires that technological innovation proceed at comparable rates if mutual gains from globalization are to be realized. In this paper, we derive a measure of innovation and test the extent to which institutional policy choices enhance or delay its diffusion. To do so we use a panel regression model, with data on a sample of 103 countries in different geographic regions for the 1980-2005 period. Our findings provide empirical evidence of the positive role of creative innovation in economic growth, and from which we derive several basic policy conclusions.