IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/
MyIDEAS: Log in (now much improved!) to save this article

Productivity, trade and the R&D content of intermediate inputs

Author Info

  • Nishioka, Shuichiro
  • Ripoll, Marla

Abstract

This paper explores a novel way to evaluate the extent to which R&D knowledge embodied in intermediate inputs correlates with productivity at the industry level. We propose the concept of the R&D content of intermediates, which represents the knowledge stock embodied in the intermediate inputs used in production. Using a sample of 32 countries and 13 manufacturing industries we compute the elasticity of industry-level TFP with respect to the R&D content of intermediates. We find that among high-R&D industries, the R&D embodied in inputs purchased from the own industry is significantly associated with industry-level TFP. In this case, both own-industry domestic inputs as well as those imported from the G5 countries are relevant. In contrast, intermediate input trade does not appear to be a significant channel of R&D diffusion among low-R&D industries.

Download Info

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014292112001122
Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Article provided by Elsevier in its journal European Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 56 (2012)
Issue (Month): 8 ()
Pages: 1573-1592

as
in new window

Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:56:y:2012:i:8:p:1573-1592
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eer

Keywords: International transfer of technology; Intermediate input trade; R&D stock; Industry-level TFP;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
  • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
  • O5 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies

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.:

as in new window
  1. Trefler, Daniel & Zhu, Susan Chun, 2010. "The structure of factor content predictions," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 195-207, November.
  2. Coe, David T. & Helpman, Elhanan & Hoffmaister, Alexander W., 2009. "International R&D spillovers and institutions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(7), pages 723-741, October.
  3. Bruno, Michael, 1978. "Duality, Intermediate Inputs and Value-Added," Histoy of Economic Thought Chapters, in: Fuss, Melvyn & McFadden, Daniel (ed.), Production Economics: A Dual Approach to Theory and Applications, volume 2, chapter 1 McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought.
  4. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March.
  5. Wolfgang Keller, 2009. "International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, and Technology Spillovers," NBER Working Papers 15442, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  6. Aghion, Philippe & Howitt, Peter, 1992. "A Model of Growth Through Creative Destruction," Scholarly Articles 12490578, Harvard University Department of Economics.
  7. Paul M Romer, 1999. "Endogenous Technological Change," Levine's Working Paper Archive 2135, David K. Levine.
  8. Griliches, Zvi & Lichtenberg, Frank, 1984. "Interindustry Technology Flows and Productivity Growth: A Re-examination," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 66(2), pages 324-29, May.
  9. Wolfgang Keller, 1996. "Trade and the Transmission of Technology," Development and Comp Systems 9609001, EconWPA.
  10. Joel Rodrigue & Hiroyuki Kasahara, 2004. "Does the Use of Imported Intermediates Increase Productivity? Plant-Level Evidence," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 511, Econometric Society.
  11. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 17-45 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  12. Basu, Susanto & Fernald, John G., 1995. "Are apparent productive spillovers a figment of specification error?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 165-188, August.
  13. Scherer, F M, 1982. "Inter-Industry Technology Flows and Productivity Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 64(4), pages 627-34, November.
  14. Madsen, Jakob B., 2007. "Technology spillover through trade and TFP convergence: 135 years of evidence for the OECD countries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 464-480, July.
  15. Caves, Douglas W & Christensen, Laurits R & Diewert, W Erwin, 1982. "Multilateral Comparisons of Output, Input, and Productivity Using Superlative Index Numbers," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(365), pages 73-86, March.
  16. Bruno Van Pottelsberghe De La Potterie & Frank Lichtenberg, 2001. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Transfer Technology Across Borders?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 490-497, August.
  17. James Harrigan, 1996. "Technology, factor supplies, and international specialization: estimating the neoclassical model," Staff Reports 15, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
  18. Puzzello, Laura, 2012. "A proportionality assumption and measurement biases in the factor content of trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 105-111.
Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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

as in new window


Cited by:

  1. Thomas Brenner, 2014. "Science, Innovation and National Growth," Working Papers on Innovation and Space 2014-03, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
  2. Brenner, Thomas, 2015. "Science, Innovation and National Growth," Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112873, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
  3. Piermartini, Roberta & Rubínová, Stela, 2014. "Knowledge spillovers through international supply chains," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2014-11, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
  4. Zhang, Gupeng & Zhou, Jianghua, 2016. "The effects of forward and reverse engineering on firm innovation performance in the stages of technology catch-up: An empirical study of China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 212-222.
  5. Neil Foster-McGregor & Johannes Pöschl & Robert Stehrer, 2014. "Capacities and Absorptive Barriers for International R&D Spillovers through Intermediate Inputs," wiiw Working Papers 108, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
  6. Nishioka, Shuichiro, 2013. "R&D, trade in intermediate inputs, and the comparative advantage of advanced countries," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 96-110.
  7. Gavazzoni, Federico & Santacreu, Ana Maria, 2015. "International R&D Spillovers and Asset Prices," Working Papers 2015-41, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

Access and download statistics

When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:56:y:2012:i:8:p:1573-1592. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Shamier, Wendy)

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.

If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with 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 profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

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

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis using RePEc data.