IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jknowl/v13y2022i4d10.1007_s13132-021-00848-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Non-R&D Intangible Capital on TFP Growth: Evidence from Multi-country Industry Level Data

Author

Listed:
  • Xiuying Ma

    (Jilin University of Finance and Economics)

  • Fei Jia

    (Jilin University of Finance and Economics)

  • Hong Jiang

    (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)

  • Xiangyun Xu

    (Nanjing University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

Compared R&D capital, the role of non-R&D intangible capital in TFP growth is under-researched. This study seeks to address this gap. The econometric analysis of industrial level data for 13 developed countries over the period of 1995–2010 shows that the growth of non-R&D intangible capital has a positive effect on TFP growth of a country. Further analysis finds that similar to R&D capital, non-R&D intangible capital also generates spillovers across industries and countries that drive TFP growth. It also shows that R&D and ICT intangible capital enhance the effect of non-R&D intangible capital. These findings extend the burgeoning literature on the role of non-R&D intangible capital in TFP growth and carry important policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiuying Ma & Fei Jia & Hong Jiang & Xiangyun Xu, 2022. "The Impact of Non-R&D Intangible Capital on TFP Growth: Evidence from Multi-country Industry Level Data," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 2890-2910, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:13:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s13132-021-00848-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-021-00848-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13132-021-00848-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13132-021-00848-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Akinci, Ozge & Olmstead-Rumsey, Jane, 2018. "How effective are macroprudential policies? An empirical investigation," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 33-57.
    2. Nordhaus William D, 2008. "Baumol's Diseases: A Macroeconomic Perspective," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-39, February.
    3. Robert E. Lucas Jr., 2015. "Human Capital and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 85-88, May.
    4. Deng, Ziliang & Guo, Honglin & Zhang, Weifu & Wang, Chengqi, 2014. "Innovation and survival of exporters: A contingency perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 396-406.
    5. Ugur, Mehmet & Churchill, Sefa Awaworyi & Luong, Hoang M., 2020. "What do we know about R&D spillovers and productivity? Meta-analysis evidence on heterogeneity and statistical power," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    6. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 1994. "Endogenous Innovation in the Theory of Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 23-44, Winter.
    7. Jensen, Morten Berg & Johnson, Bjorn & Lorenz, Edward & Lundvall, Bengt Ake, 2007. "Forms of knowledge and modes of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 680-693, June.
    8. Neusser, Klaus, 2008. "Interdependencies of US manufacturing sectoral TFPs: A spatial VAR approach," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 991-1004, September.
    9. Hyunbae Chun & M. Ishaq Nadiri, 2016. "Intangible Investment and Changing Sources of Growth in Korea," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 67(1), pages 50-76, March.
    10. Konstantinos Chatzimichael & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2014. "Human capital contributions to explain productivity differences," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 399-417, June.
    11. Keller, Wolfgang, 1998. "Are international R&D spillovers trade-related?: Analyzing spillovers among randomly matched trade partners," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1469-1481, September.
    12. Huang, Can & Arundel, Anthony & Hollanders, Hugo, 2010. "How Firms Innovate: R&D, Non-R&D, and Technology Adoption," Working Papers 9854, University of Tasmania, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, revised 19 Nov 2012.
    13. Felix Roth & Anna-Elisabeth Thum, 2022. "Intangible Capital and Labor Productivity Growth: Panel Evidence for the EU from 1998–2005," Contributions to Economics, in: Intangible Capital and Growth, chapter 0, pages 101-128, Springer.
    14. Carol Corrado & Charles Hulten & Daniel Sichel, 2005. "Measuring Capital and Technology: An Expanded Framework," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Capital in the New Economy, pages 11-46, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Chou, Yen-Chun & Hao-Chun Chuang, Howard & Shao, Benjamin B.M., 2014. "The impacts of information technology on total factor productivity: A look at externalities and innovations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 290-299.
    16. Mr. David T. Coe & Mr. Willy A Hoffmaister, 1999. "Are There International R&D Spillovers Among Randomly Matched Trade Partners? A Response to Keller," IMF Working Papers 1999/018, International Monetary Fund.
    17. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 1999. "Make and buy in innovation strategies: evidence from Belgian manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 63-80, January.
    18. Jason G. Cummins, 2005. "A New Approach to the Valuation of Intangible Capital," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Capital in the New Economy, pages 47-72, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Alexandre Trigo, 2013. "The Nature of Innovation in R&D- and Non-R&D-Intensive Service Firms: Evidence from Firm-Level Latent Class Analysis," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 48-68, January.
    20. Carol Corrado & Jonathan Haskel & Cecilia Jona-Lasinio, 2017. "Knowledge Spillovers, ICT and Productivity Growth," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(4), pages 592-618, August.
    21. Elsadig Musa Ahmed, 2017. "ICT and Human Capital Spillover Effects in Achieving Sustainable East Asian Knowledge-Based Economies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(3), pages 1086-1112, September.
    22. Jovanovic, Boyan & Rousseau, Peter L., 2005. "General Purpose Technologies," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 18, pages 1181-1224, Elsevier.
    23. Morgan, Peter J. & Regis, Paulo José & Salike, Nimesh, 2019. "LTV policy as a macroprudential tool and its effects on residential mortgage loans," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 89-103.
    24. Zhuo (June) Cheng & Barrie R. Nault, 2007. "Industry Level Supplier-Driven IT Spillovers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(8), pages 1199-1216, August.
    25. Chen, Wen & Niebel, Thomas & Saam, Marianne, 2016. "Are intangibles more productive in ICT-intensive industries? Evidence from EU countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 471-484.
    26. Marcel P. Timmer & Bart van Ark, 2005. "Does information and communication technology drive EU-US productivity growth differentials?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 57(4), pages 693-716, October.
    27. Wang, Jian-Ye & Blomstrom, Magnus, 1992. "Foreign investment and technology transfer : A simple model," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 137-155, January.
    28. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    29. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    30. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    31. Torben M Andersen, 2015. "Human Capital, Inequality and Growth," European Economy - Discussion Papers 007, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    32. Amel Attour & Pierre Barbaroux, 2021. "The Role of Knowledge Processes in a Business Ecosystem’s Lifecycle," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(1), pages 238-255, March.
    33. Carol Corrado & John Haltiwanger & Daniel Sichel, 2005. "Introduction to "Measuring Capital in the New Economy"," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Capital in the New Economy, pages 1-10, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. ., 2008. "The Role of the Internet in Explaining Innovation Performance," Chapters, in: Industrial Innovation and Firm Performance, chapter 11, pages 190-205, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    35. Michele Battisti & Filippo Belloc & Massimo Del Gatto, 2015. "Unbundling Technology Adoption and tfp at the Firm Level: Do Intangibles Matter?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 390-414, June.
    36. Pieri, Fabio & Vecchi, Michela & Venturini, Francesco, 2018. "Modelling the joint impact of R&D and ICT on productivity: A frontier analysis approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1842-1852.
    37. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    38. Barro, Robert J & Lee, Jong-Wha, 2001. "International Data on Educational Attainment: Updates and Implications," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 541-563, July.
    39. Cerutti, Eugenio & Claessens, Stijn & Laeven, Luc, 2017. "The use and effectiveness of macroprudential policies: New evidence," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 203-224.
    40. Timothy G. Conley & Bill Dupor, 2003. "A Spatial Analysis of Sectoral Complementarity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(2), pages 311-352, April.
    41. Elsadig Musa Ahmed, 2017. "Erratum to: ICT and Human Capital Spillover Effects in Achieving Sustainable East Asian Knowledge-Based Economies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(3), pages 1113-1113, September.
    42. Grossman, Gene M. & Helpman, Elhanan, 1991. "Trade, knowledge spillovers, and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2-3), pages 517-526, April.
    43. Till Proeger, 2020. "Knowledge Spillovers and Absorptive Capacity—Institutional Evidence from the “German Mittelstand”," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(1), pages 211-238, March.
    44. Bart van Ark & Mary O'Mahoney & Marcel P. Timmer, 2008. "The Productivity Gap between Europe and the United States: Trends and Causes," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 25-44, Winter.
    45. Wang, Chengqi & Deng, Ziliang & Kafouros, Mario I. & Chen, Yan, 2012. "Reconceptualizing the spillover effects of foreign direct investment: A process-dependent approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 452-464.
    46. Spyros Arvanitis & Euripidis Loukis, 2020. "Reduction of ICT Investment Due to the 2008 Economic Crisis and ICT-Enabled Innovation Performance of Firms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, March.
    47. Jérôme Vandenbussche & Philippe Aghion & Costas Meghir, 2006. "Growth, distance to frontier and composition of human capital," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 97-127, June.
    48. Enrico Moretti, 2004. "Workers' Education, Spillovers, and Productivity: Evidence from Plant-Level Production Functions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 656-690, June.
    49. Lee, You-Na & Walsh, John P., 2016. "Inventing while you work: Knowledge, non-R&D learning and innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 345-359.
    50. Santamara, Llus & Nieto, Mara Jess & Barge-Gil, Andrs, 2009. "Beyond formal R&D: Taking advantage of other sources of innovation in low- and medium-technology industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 507-517, April.
    51. Carol Corrado & John Haltiwanger & Daniel Sichel, 2005. "Measuring Capital in the New Economy," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number corr05-1.
    52. Konara, Palitha & Wei, Yingqi, 2019. "The complementarity of human capital and language capital in foreign direct investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 391-404.
    53. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    54. Tsuji, Masatsugu & Ueki, Yasushi & Shigeno, Hidenori & Bunno, Teruyuki & Idota, Hiroki, 2018. "ICT and Two Categories of R&D in the Innovation Process among Firms in ASEAN Countries Based on Firm-level Survey Data," 29th European Regional ITS Conference, Trento 2018 184970, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    55. Koutroumpis, Pantelis & Leiponen, Aija & Thomas, Llewellyn D.W., 2020. "Small is big in ICT: The impact of R&D on productivity," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1).
    56. Jia, Fei & Ma, Xiuying & Xu, Xiangyun & Xie, Lijuan, 2020. "The differential role of manufacturing and non-manufacturing TFP growth in economic growth," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 174-183.
    57. Peter J Buckley & Jeremy Clegg & Chengqi Wang, 2007. "Is the relationship between inward FDI and spillover effects linear? An empirical examination of the case of China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(3), pages 447-459, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roth, Felix, 2019. "Intangible Capital and Labour Productivity Growth: A Review of the Literature," Hamburg Discussion Papers in International Economics 4, University of Hamburg, Department of Economics.
    2. Nonnis, Alberto & Bounfour, Ahmed & Kim, Keungoui, 2023. "Knowledge spillovers and intangible complementarities: Empirical case of European countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    3. Chen, Wen & Niebel, Thomas & Saam, Marianne, 2016. "Are intangibles more productive in ICT-intensive industries? Evidence from EU countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 471-484.
    4. Khanna, Rupika & Sharma, Chandan, 2021. "Do technological investments promote manufacturing productivity? A firm-level analysis for India," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Li, Qing & Wu, Yanrui, 2020. "Intangible capital, ICT and sector growth in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1).
    6. Roth, Felix & Sen, Ali & Rammer, Christian, 2021. "Intangible Capital and Firm-Level Productivity – Evidence from Germany," Hamburg Discussion Papers in International Economics 9, University of Hamburg, Department of Economics.
    7. Kim, Keungoui & Bounfour, Ahmed & Nonnis, Alberto & Özaygen, Altay, 2021. "Measuring ICT externalities and their contribution to productivity: A bilateral trade based approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    8. Harald Gruber, 2017. "Innovation, skills and investment: a digital industrial policy for Europe," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 44(3), pages 327-343, September.
    9. Roth,Felix & Thum, Anna-Elisabeth, 2010. "Does intangible capital affect economic growth?," CEPS Papers 3667, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    10. Orlic, Edvard & Hashi, Iraj & Hisarciklilar, Mehtap, 2018. "Cross sectoral FDI spillovers and their impact on manufacturing productivity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 777-796.
    11. Carol Corrado & Jonathan Haskel & Cecilia Jona-Lasinio, 2017. "Knowledge Spillovers, ICT and Productivity Growth," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(4), pages 592-618, August.
    12. Raksmey, Uch & Lin, Ching-Yang & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2022. "Macroprudential regulation and financial inclusion: Any difference between developed and developing countries?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    13. Zhong, Changbiao & Xie, Lijuan & Shi, Yu & Xu, Xiangyun, 2023. "Macro-prudential policy, its alignment with monetary policy and house price growth: A cross-country study," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 51-62.
    14. Supriyo De & Dilip Dutta, 2007. "Impact of Intangible Capital on Productivity and Growth: Lessons from the Indian Information Technology Software Industry," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 83(s1), pages 73-86, September.
    15. Ilias Kostarakos & Kieran McQuinn & Petros Varthalitis, 2024. "Is Ireland the most intangible intensive economy in Europe? A growth accounting perspective," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 70(2), pages 370-394, June.
    16. Michael Peneder & Christian Rammer, 2018. "Measuring Competitiveness," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 60838.
    17. Thum-Thysen, Anna & Voigt, Peter & Weiss, Christoph, 2021. "Complementarities in capital formation and production: Tangible and intangible assets across Europe," EIB Working Papers 2021/12, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    18. Santos, Eleonora & Khan, Shahed, 2018. "Technological Trajectories and FDI: Top Bananas and Underdogs," EconStor Preprints 183472, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    19. Sai Ding & Alessandra Guariglia & Richard Harris, 2016. "The determinants of productivity in Chinese large and medium-sized industrial firms, 1998–2007," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 131-155, April.
    20. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Thorwarth, Susanne, 2012. "Productivity effects of basic research in low-tech and high-tech industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 1555-1564.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intangible capital; Non-R&D intangible capital; R&D intangible capital; ICT intangible capital; TFP; Jel Code: D24; O47; O52;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

    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:spr:jknowl:v:13:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s13132-021-00848-0. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc 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 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.