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Re-examining International Technological-Knowledge Diffusion

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  • Oscar Afonso
  • Paulo B. Vasconcelos

Abstract

In the standard models of North-South technological-knowledge diffusion, the larger the initial technological-knowledge gap between countries, the greater the Southern catching up. However, this result does not adjust well to Southern reality as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the disparity between the theoretical outcome and the empirical findings can be reduced by considering that: (i) the South can only imitate Northern technological knowledge when it is sufficiently close to the Northern frontier; (ii) the advantage of the South's moderate backwardness, together with its imitation capacity, is a mechanism of catching up with the North; and (iii) the Southern catching-up specification can be country specific. In particular, we show that the behavior of the South's relative level of employed human capital affects Southern imitation capacity and depends on the catching-up specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Oscar Afonso & Paulo B. Vasconcelos, 2007. "Re-examining International Technological-Knowledge Diffusion," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 279-296.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intecj:v:21:y:2007:i:2:p:279-296
    DOI: 10.1080/10168730701345307
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    Cited by:

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