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Learning and Productivity of Swedish Exporting Firms: The importance of Innovation Efforts and the Geography of Innovation

Author

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  • Lööf, Hans

    (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology)

  • Nabavi, Pardis

    (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology)

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the productivity and growth of Swedish exporting firms. Using data on 9,580 manufacturing firms with 10 or more employees for the period 1997-2008, it estimates a dynamic GMM model that captures both the impact of recurrent knowledge investment through innovation and potential spillovers from the local milieu. The majority of the exporting firms are non-innovative. The data reveal that patent applicants located in knowledge intense milieus account for almost 40 percent of total Swedish exports, but only 2 percent of the firms. From the regressions it is shown that, relative to a firm that does not engage in innovation and has scarce access to external knowledge, the level of productivity is 2-12 percent higher for an innovative firm, depending on how innovation is defined and where the innovator is located. The annual long-run growth rate is 0.2-0.7 higher for innovative firms. Moreover, the performance gap between innovative and non-innovative exporters increases with accessibility to external knowledge for the former.

Suggested Citation

  • Lööf, Hans & Nabavi, Pardis, 2013. "Learning and Productivity of Swedish Exporting Firms: The importance of Innovation Efforts and the Geography of Innovation," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 296, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0296
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lööf, Hans & Nabavi , Pardis, 2014. "How to Persistently Finance Innovation: A Panel-Data Study on Exporting Firms in Sweden," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 346, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    2. Howell, Anthony, 2018. "Innovation and Firm Performance in the People’s Republic of China: A Structural Approach with Spillovers," ADBI Working Papers 805, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    3. Hoon Jang, 2018. "Association of SME and Government Policy Factors with the Creation of New Employment: Manufacturing Industry in Korea," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Palmberg, Johanna, 2013. "Spontaneous Orders and the Emergence of Economically Powerful Cities," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 310, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity; exports; innovation; geographical knowledge spillovers; panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • R32 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Other Spatial Production and Pricing Analysis

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