Technological adoption and innovation in OECD and BRICS countries: A two‑way fixed effects difference‑in‑differences analysis

Understanding how technological progress unfolds across advanced and emerging economies remains central to both innovation research and development policy. This study compares the trajectories of technological adoption and innovation in OECD and BRICS countries using a two-way fixed effects difference-in-differences (DID) framework over the period 1995–2023. The analysis focuses on three core indicators: mobile cellular subscriptions, internet usage, and patent applications, and is supported by an extensive set of diagnostic checks, including partial R² contributions, residual normality and heteroskedasticity tests, and Ramsey RESET tests. Despite historically higher levels of connectivity and innovation in OECD countries, the estimated results indicate a relative slowdown in growth rates for mobile subscriptions, internet adoption, and patenting activity, with negative and statistically significant coefficients across specifications with and without control variables. On the other hand, BRICS countries show steady progress in all three outcomes, often rapid, catch‑up. These findings challenge conventional assumptions about the persistence of technological leadership in advanced economies and suggest that emerging economies are increasingly shaping global patterns of technology adoption and innovation. The results emphasize the necessity of policy frameworks that recognize heterogeneous pathways of technological progress and support both diffusion and innovation in a changing global economic landscape.