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Technology Trade in Economic Development

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Recent evidence on the respective contributions of institutions and trade to income levels across countries has demonstrated that – once endogeneity is considered – institutional quality clearly dominates the effect of trade. We argue that overall trade is not the most appropriate measure for technology diffusion as a source of productivity growth and propose to focus on imports of research and development (R&D) intensive goods instead. Overall, we confirm previous findings that institutions matter most and that overall trade is not positively associated with per-capita income levels. Yet this does not hold for technology trade, as there is a positive and significant linkage between technology imports and income levels. This outcome is robust to various model specifications, including an instrumental variable approach.

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  • Matthias Busse & José Luis Groizard, 2006. "Technology Trade in Economic Development," DEA Working Papers 22, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Departament d'Economía Aplicada.
  • Handle: RePEc:ubi:deawps:22
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    Cited by:

    1. Betul Gur, 2020. "The Effect of Foreign Trade on Innovation: The Case of Brics-T Countries," EconWorld Working Papers 20003, WERI-World Economic Research Institute, revised May 2020.
    2. Mellati, Ali, 2008. "Technology, Trade Specialization and Development: Jumping to Technology Development Era," MPRA Paper 26643, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Jose Groizard, 2009. "Technology Trade," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(9), pages 1526-1544.
    4. Sumbal Fatima & Bateer Chen & Muhammad Ramzan & Qamar Abbas, 2020. "The Nexus Between Trade Openness and GDP Growth: Analyzing the Role of Human Capital Accumulation," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, November.
    5. Idris, Zera Zuryana & Ismail, Normaz Wana & Ibrahim, Saifuzzaman & Hamzah, Hanny Zurina, 2021. "High-Technology Trade: Does it Enhance National Competitiveness?," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 55(3), pages 35-48.
    6. Frajana Layla & Shapan Chandra Majumder & Bismark Kusi Appiah & Anouba Acha Arnaud Martial & Kichiedou Geraud Randolphe & Obambi Chardel Cardorel, 2020. "A Panel Dynamic Analysis on Inward FDI and Institutional Quality in South Asia and South East Asia," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(6), pages 654-669, June.
    7. Krammer, Sorin M.S., 2014. "Assessing the relative importance of multiple channels for embodied and disembodied technological spillovers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 272-286.
    8. Hongzhong Fan & Md Ismail Hossain, 2018. "Technological Innovation, Trade Openness, CO2 Emission and Economic Growth: Comparative Analysis between China and India," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(6), pages 240-257.
    9. Herrerias, M.J. & Orts, Vicente, 2013. "Capital goods imports and long-run growth: Is the Chinese experience relevant to developing countries?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 781-797.
    10. Fidrmuc, Jan & Gaibulloev, Khusrav & Mirzaei, Ali & Moore, Tomoe, 2024. "The effect of capital inflows on the imports of capital goods in developing countries," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. R. Rijesh, 2021. "Liberalization, Import of Capital Goods, and Industrial Exports: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Sectors," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 13(1), pages 81-103, January.
    12. Bournakis, Ioannis & Rizov, Marian & Christopoulos, Dimitris, 2023. "Revisiting the effect of institutions on the economic performance of SSA countries: Do legal origins matter in the context of ethnic heterogeneity?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    13. Andrea Fracasso & Giuseppe Vittucci Marzetti, 2013. "An empirical note on international R&D spillovers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 179-191, August.
    14. Cohle, Zachary & Ortega, Alberto, 2022. "Life of the party: The polarizing effect of foreign direct investment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. Herrerias, M.J. & Orts, Vicente, 2011. "Imports and growth in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 2811-2819.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Growth; Technology Diffusion; Trade; R&D Spillovers.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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