Are international R&D spillovers costly for the United States?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Luintel, KB; Khan, M
• 署名单位: Brunel University; Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD)
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/0034653043125266
• 发表日期: 2004-11
• 页码: 896-910
• 关键词: productivity; hypothesis; TRADE; tests

摘要

Coe and Helpman, among others, report positive and equivalent R&D spillovers across groups of countries. However, the nature of their econometric tests does not address the heterogeneity of knowledge diffusion across countries. We empirically examine these issues in a sample of 10 OECD countries by extending both the time span and the coverage of R&D activities in the data set. We find that the elasticity of total factor productivity with respect to domestic and foreign R&D stocks is extremely heterogeneous across countries and that data cannot be pooled. Thus, panel estimates conceal important cross-country differences. The United States appears to be a net loser in international R&D spillovers. Our interpretation is that when competitors catch up technologically, they challenge U.S. market shares and investments worldwide. This has implications for U.S. productivity.