Neighbors and the evolution of the comparative advantage of nations: Evidence of international knowledge diffusion?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bahar, Dany; Hausmann, Ricardo; Hidalgo, Cesar A.
• 署名单位: Harvard University; Harvard University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2013.11.001
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 111-123
• 关键词: Export similarity; PRODUCTIVITY; KNOWLEDGE; TECHNOLOGY; diffusion; spillovers

摘要

The literature on knowledge diffusion shows that knowledge decays strongly with distance. In this paper we document that the probability that a product is added to a country's export basket is, on average, 65% larger if a neighboring country is a successful exporter of that same product. For existing products, growth of exports in a country is 1.5% higher per annum if it has a neighbor with comparative advantage in these products. While these results could be driven by a common third factor that escapes our controls, they align with our expectations of the localized character of knowledge diffusion. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.