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Business Visits, Knowledge Diffusion and Productivity

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  • Piva, Mariacristina

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

  • Tani, Massimiliano

    (University of New South Wales)

  • Vivarelli, Marco

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the productivity impact of business visits, relative to traditional drivers of productivity enhancement, namely capital formation and R&D. To carry out the analysis, we combine unique and novel data on business visits sourced from the U.S. National Business Travel Association with OECD data on R&D and capital formation. The resulting unbalanced panel covers on average 16 sectors per year in 10 countries during the period 1998-2011 (2,262 observations). Our results suggest that mobility through business visits is an effective mechanism to improve productivity. The estimated effect is about half as large as investing in R&D, supporting viewing business visits as a form of long-term investment rather than pure consumption expenditure. In a nutshell, our outcomes support the need to recognize the private and social value of business mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Piva, Mariacristina & Tani, Massimiliano & Vivarelli, Marco, 2016. "Business Visits, Knowledge Diffusion and Productivity," IZA Discussion Papers 10421, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10421
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

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    3. Ho, Calvin K. & McAuley, Kimberley B. & Peppley, Brant A., 2019. "Biolubricants through renewable hydrocarbons: A perspective for new opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1-1.
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    5. Mbaye, Linguère Mously & Tani, Massimiliano, 2019. "Migration, Innovation, and Growth: An African Story?," IZA Discussion Papers 12533, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Chang Liu & Li‐An Zhou, 2022. "Does international travel cause economic growth? Evidence from China's removal of travel restrictions on foreigners," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 337-355, April.
    7. Thanh Le & Ngoc Vu Bich & Sau Mai & Ha Nguyen & Hung Bui, 2023. "Financial Development and International R&D Spillovers Through Trade: Evidence From Developing Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
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    9. Francesco Bripi, 2019. "Business travels, multinational firms and international trade," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 523, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    10. Tiwary, Nishant Kumar & Kumar, Rishi Kant & Sarraf, Shagun & Kumar, Prashant & Rana, Nripendra P., 2021. "Impact assessment of social media usage in B2B marketing: A review of the literature and a way forward," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 121-139.
    11. Zhou, Yuekuan & Cao, Sunliang & Hensen, Jan L.M., 2021. "An energy paradigm transition framework from negative towards positive district energy sharing networks—Battery cycling aging, advanced battery management strategies, flexible vehicles-to-buildings in," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    business visits; labour mobility; knowledge; R&D; productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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