International Technology Diffusion Research Articles

International alliances and technology diffusion: A worldwide analysis of adoption of energy, railway and satellite technologies

This study analyzes the role of international alliances in the adoption of new technology at the national level. We look at the worldwide diffusion of six key infrastructure technologies during the past six decades among 161 countries: nuclear power, solar power, wind power, marine power, high-speed rail, and telecommunication satellites. Acknowledging that international relations are not solely structured by formal alliances, we further investigate the impact of neighboring states on technology diffusion, as neighbors tend to maintain strong economic and cultural ties. We further look at simple imitation effects between states with similar political systems. With our focus on international alliances as drivers of international technology diffusion, our study complements economic studies on technology diffusion. For most of the technologies, we find evidence for spillovers between allied states as well as between neighboring states, while no such evidence was found for institutionally similar states. These results confirm the important role that international alliances may play in technology diffusion.

North–South trade, technology diffusion, and uneven development

ABSTRACT A recent consensus in the trade and endogenous growth literature establishes that North–South trade could only be detrimental to the South if there is no international technology diffusion. In this paper, I challenge this consensus. To do so, I develop a North–South two-sector trade model, with innovation and technology diffusion (or imitation). The crucial elements of the model are that diffusion is cheaper than innovation, but costly nonetheless, and that it occurs in the modern sector. By opening to trade, the South ends up specializing more in traditional sector production, losing the productivity gains associated with technology diffusion through modern sector production. The model thus confirms that technology diffusion is a force of convergence but shows that trade makes the South experience lower levels of technological progress and income relative to the North, so-called uneven development. After presenting the model, I broadly discuss the consistency of its policy implications in light of historical evidence and discuss the empirical plausibility of its crucial assumptions.

Global trend of methane abatement inventions and widening mismatch with methane emissions

Substantially reducing methane emissions is the fastest way to repress near-term warming and is an essential prerequisite for reaching the 1.5 °C target. However, knowledge about the global invention trend, sectoral and national distribution and international diffusion of methane-targeted abatement technologies (MTATs) remains limited. On the basis of patent data, we identify more than 175,000 MTAT inventions applied between 1990 and 2019 by 133 countries or dependent territories. Our results revealed that after sustained growth of more than fourfold, the number of global high-quality MTAT inventions declined by 3.5% annually from 2010 to 2019. The sectoral and national-level distributions of MTAT inventions and methane emissions are strongly mismatched. Additionally, the international diffusion of MTATs is 11.1% lower than that of overall climate change mitigation technologies and most transfers occur between developed countries or flow to China, South Korea and Brazil; however, other developing countries and the least developed countries are rarely involved.

Technology adoption, innovation policy and catching-up.

A model is proposed where economic growth is driven by innovation alongside the diffusion and adoption of technology from the frontier. Innovation investments are related to households savings, which generates multiple equilibria with low and high levels of innovation and productivity. Low-level equilibria are unstable. Starting from a position with low levels of investment and innovation, increasing investments are associated with high but decreasing dependence on international technology diffusion. A major objective of policy-making is to increase investment sufficiently in the lower end to reach the high-level steady state. An economic rationale is provided for the existence of productivity improving equilibria, where distance to the frontier is reduced based on a tax and subsidy mechanism designed to boost innovation and speed up catching-up.

Determinants of Green Technology Diffusion and Green Trade

Purpose - This study aims to explore the factors that contribute to the international diffusion of green technology and further analyze the relationship between green technology diffusion and green trade. Previous studies and theoretical foundations suggest that economic, technological, and institutional environments are important factors influencing the diffusion of green technology among countries. For this study, trade openness, intellectual property protection, the level of development of information and communication technology (ICT), research and development (R&D) investment, environmental regulations, and environmental norms were used as the key factors in the diffusion of green technology. In addition, a comparative analysis of OECD and non-OECD countries is conducted.
 Design/methodology - Panel data were collected from 58 countries for the period 2007-2019. The empirical analysis consists of two parts, first exploring the drivers of green technology diffusion using the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method, and then analyzing the linkage between green technology diffusion and green trade using the two-stage least squares (2SLS) model. The demand for green technology is expected to vary among countries because of their different economic development levels and goals. A comparative analysis was conducted based on the classification of countries by the level of economic development.
 Findings - We found that the level of intellectual property protection, R&D investment and environmental norms contribute positively to the diffusion of green technology. However, there is a negative correlation between trade openness, environmental regulations and green technology diffusion. Green technology diffusion positively affects green trade. Moreover, the positive impact of green technology diffusion on green trade is more pronounced in non-OECD countries than in OECD countries.
 Originality/value - Previous studies have focused on technology transfer and green technology innovation at the firm level; however, research on green technology diffusion is insufficient. This study investigated the determinants of green technology diffusion at the national level. The study also explored the relationship between green technology diffusion and green trade. It helps to fill the gap in the literature on green technology diffusion and provides a reference for future studies. Additionally, our findings offer valuable guidance for government and corporate decision-makers in formulating strategies for the transfer of green technologies and sustainable development initiatives.

Examining green productivity amidst climate change technological development and spillovers in the Nordic economies

The common ground of both critics and proponents of green productivity is arguably hinged on the main role of environmental technological advancement. Considering the drive for climate-neutral economy among the Nordic states, the current study examines the role of climate change technological development within the countries and technological spillovers across countries in the pursuit for green economy. By using a combination of pooled mean group approach of autoregressive distributed lag (for coefficient estimation) and the recently developed Granger non-causality approach by Juodis et al. (2021) for the panel dataset analysis over the period 1990–2018, the results reveal that both domestic technological development and spillovers from abroad promote long-run green productivity growth in the panel and country-specific estimations. In both estimations, the impact of international diffusion of climate change technologies on green productivity is found to be larger. Additionally, the influence of these two dynamics of climate change-related technologies on attaining greening economy is the most impactful in Sweden. In the remaining Nordic economies, climate change technology spillovers in Denmark are more impactful than in Finland and least in Norway, while climate change technological development in Norway drives green productivity more than in Finland and least in Denmark. As a robust insight, the Granger causality techniques revealed causality from climate change technologies within the countries, climate change technology spillovers, and population to green productivity. Consequently, public policies should promote green innovativeness and especially learning and knowledge transfer from other countries to achieve climate neutrality targets.

Technology diffusion and international business cycles

This paper shows that the cross-country diffusion of innovations forms a critical channel through which macroeconomic shocks are transmitted across economies. This inference is obtained from a two country, medium scale DSGE model that includes an endogenous growth mechanism. R&D activity and innovation are the main components of this mechanism and they are introduced through a labor-augmenting technology. The model features international diffusion of technologies as the innovations by a firm are not only adopted by other firms within a country but also by those in the other country. Estimating the model with US and Euro Area data, I observe that foreign shocks contribute a high share to the macroeconomic volatility in each economy. By contrast, foreign shocks make a negligible contribution when the model is estimated after shutting down technology diffusion. The results, more generally, show that it is not technology shocks, nor any other shock, but the transmission of shocks through the diffusion of new technologies that is the key driver of international business cycles.

Technological Transfer Channels of Food and Beverage Processing Multinationals to Host Countries: An Empirical Analysis

This research examines the possibility of food and beverage (F&B)-processing multinational corporations serving as a viable conduit for the international diffusion of technology. It utilizes existing literature to analyse three potential avenues through which technology transfer occurs from these corporations to host sectors: contract farming, domestic collaboration for innovation, and spillover effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In specific instances, these firms might provide support to local innovators through financial assistance or complementary resources. Additionally, they may actively facilitate technology transfers to particular types of local partners and they may generate demonstration effects. Nevertheless, the prevailing evidence consistently indicates that the impact of FDI on the host sector is generally limited or selective. The findings of this study cast doubt on the overly optimistic views held by international organizations and host governments regarding FDI in the food sector as a major source of cutting-edge technology for host countries. The incentives offered to food and beverage multinationals should be carefully calibrated to strike a balance between acknowledging potential benefits to the sector's innovation system and maintaining a realistic perspective on the actual outcomes. This study combines and analyses three separate empirical lines of research in parallel to offer factual elements for a policy debate. By integrating these different research approaches, the study aims to contribute to a well-informed discussion on relevant policy matters.

Trade and diffusion of embodied technology: an empirical analysis

Using global patents, citations, inter-sectoral sales, and trade data, we examine the international diffusion of technology through imported inputs. We use citations and sales data to characterize knowledge and production input-output tables for individual countries. Using these tables, we construct a measure of the flow of knowledge-weighted and production-weighted technology embodied in inputs imported from the US. We develop an instrumental variable strategy to establish that increases in embodied technology imports lead to increased innovation and knowledge diffusion in sectors within importing countries. Effects are substantially larger for knowledge-weighted imports of embodied technology.

Impacts of Digital Trade Restrictiveness on Green Technology Innovation: An Empirical Analysis

ABSTRACT Using data covering 50 countries from 2014 to 2018, this study investigates the impact of digital trade restrictiveness (DTR) on green technology innovation (GTI). Our findings indicate that DTR has a detrimental impact on GTI. We further show that this negative effect can be explained through channels of international technology collaboration (ITC) and international technology diffusion (ITD). Finally, our group tests results indicate that increasing innovation input, promoting democracy and setting up carbon trading markets can mitigate the negative impact of DTR on GTI.

Value-Added Trade, Trade Barriers, and International Technology Spillover—Evidence from China’s Manufacturing Industry

Abstract Whereas the technology spillover effect of international trade has been widely concerned by academic circles, the impact of trade barriers on technology spillover has received relatively less attention. This paper assesses the heterogeneity of international technology spillover effects in China’s manufacturing industry from traditional gross trade and value-added trade perspectives. Moreover, a deep insight into the effects of tariff and non-tariff barriers on international technology diffusion from traditional gross trade and value-added trade perspectives is also provided. Results show that the international trade indeed engenders technology diffusion, which is especially true in value-added trade characterized by intermediate goods trade compared with traditional gross trade. Additionally, tariff barriers severely disrupt technology diffusion in international trade, and traditional gross trade statistics underestimate the cumulative destructive effect of trade barriers on technology diffusion. Consequently, it can be concluded that reducing the abuse and misuse of non-tariff barriers can moderate the negative effect of trade barriers on international technology diffusion. JEL classification numbers: F14. Keywords: Global value chains; Value-added trade; Trade barriers; International technology spillover; Manufacturing industry.

Technology Diffusion And Power Transition: The Case Of The Semiconductor Industry In East Asia

The semiconductor industry is an excellent illustration of the interaction between technology diffusion and power transition. Since the 1960s, there have been three large waves of technology transfer as well as industry transfer in East Asian countries’ semiconductor industry, where the production network acted as an essential nexus. International technology diffusion, whose channels consist of international trade and foreign direct investment, plays a primary role in the formation of the semiconductor production network in East Asia, which has a profound influence on shaping the international power structure. However, the reshaping power structure always attracts the technology exporter’s attention and provokes power competition between the dominant state and the rising power, which in turn casts negative influences on international technology diffusion. Nowadays, the third wave of technology transfer in this field has been ongoing for decades between first-movers and China, while the power competition and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the process, which will greatly influence the power distribution in the field of the semiconductor industry and the international power structure

The empirics of economic growth over time and across nations: a unified growth perspective

This research develops an expanded unified growth theory that incorporates the endogenous accumulation of physical capital, population, human capital, and technology. The model incorporates a complementarity between physical capital and human capital and can be extended to a multi-country setting with international technology diffusion. The analytical characterization of the mechanisms behind the observed patterns of long-run growth and comparative development delivers a consistent explanation for a large set of seemingly unrelated empirical facts. A quantitative multi-country version of the model matches various empirical regularities of long-run growth dynamics and comparative development patterns that have previously been studied in isolation. The findings also shed new light on the role of the demographic transition for convergence patterns, the specification of cross-country growth regressions, technology spillovers, and the secular stagnation debate.

Intellectual Property and International Clean Technology Diffusion: Pathways and Prospects

AbstractInternational clean technology diffusion is essential to mitigate and adapt to climate change, while fast and optimal diffusion can be prevented by the paywall of patents. This article explores the deficiency in clean technology diffusion caused by the legal fragmentation and rule complex of international environmental law and intellectual property law. It systematically examines three pathways to foster international clean technology diffusion through: restriction of intellectual property, including imposing external restraints in environmental law; striking internal balancing in maximizing TRIPS flexibilities; and keeping the status quo. It argues that treaty pathways may not work, and an operable pathway to promote clean technology diffusion is to maximize and consolidate TRIPS flexibilities in national laws. This option challenges the popular proposal of a “Doha-like” declaration on TRIPS and climate change due to the paralyzed multilateral trade mechanism, asymmetrical negotiation power of developing countries, prolonged negotiation process, and categorization problem in treaty negotiations.

International doctoral graduates as inventors in the German innovation system

ABSTRACT We study patenting activities of international STEM PhDs trained at German universities to explore their integration into the German innovation system and their role in the international diffusion of technology. International PhD inventors with German inventor addresses file a disproportionate share of patents with applicants from their home countries. Our results do not indicate that they are more likely to cite, or be cited by, patents from their home country or other international patents.

Interactive R&D spillovers: An estimation strategy based on forecasting-driven model selection

This paper proposes an estimation strategy that exploits recent non-parametric panel data methods that allow for a multifactor error structure and extends a recently proposed data-driven model-selection procedure, which has its roots in cross validation and aims to test whether two competing approximate models are equivalent in terms of their expected true error. We extend this procedure to a large panel data framework by using moving block bootstrap resampling techniques in order to preserve cross-sectional dependence in the bootstrapped samples. Such an estimation strategy is illustrated by revisiting an analysis of international technology diffusion. Model selection procedures clearly conclude in the superiority of a fully non-parametric (non-additive) specification over parametric and even semi-parametric (additive) specifications. This work also refines previous results by showing threshold effects, non-linearities, and interactions that are obscured in parametric specifications and which have relevant implications for policy.

Exploring the patterns of international technology diffusion in AI from the perspective of patent citations

Exploring the patterns of international technology diffusion in AI from the perspective of patent citations

Can International Technological Diffusion Substitute for Coordinated Global Policies to Mitigate Climate Change?

In short, yes. I use a multi-region integrated assessment model with fuel-specific endogenous technical change to examine the impact of Europe and China reducing emissions to zero by mid-century. Without international technological diffusion this is insufficient to avoid catastrophic climate change. But when innovation can diffuse overseas, long-run temperature increases are limited to 3 degrees. This occurs because policy not only encourages green innovations but also dissuades dirty innovations which would otherwise spread. The most effective policy package in emissions-reducing regions is a research subsidy funded by a carbon tax, driven in the short term by the direct effect of the carbon tax on the composition of energy, and later by innovation induced by research subsidies. Green production subsidies are ineffective because they undermine incentives for innovation.

The Influence of FDI and Human Capital Inflow on Technological Progress

FDI and human capital flow, as an important path of international technology diffusion, is an important driving force for technological progress in a region. Using panel data of 30 provinces and cities in China, this paper examines the relationship between FDI, human capital flow and technological progress in different regions of China. The empirical results show that the two approaches play an important role in technological progress in different regions of China, but the contribution degree is different. Various regions should implement appropriate policies to make full use of the technology spillover effect of export and human capital flow to accelerate technological progress, and form a smooth domestic technology diffusion mechanism to accelerate the transmission of foreign RESEARCH and development, and finally promote the coordinated development of regional economy.

Drivers for and barriers to the diffusion of biogas technologies through export

The technology diffusion literature has extensively analysed drivers for and barriers to the adoption of renewable energy technologies. However, there are relatively few studies that analyse drivers and barriers from the perspective of renewable energy technology suppliers. An analysis of the supplier-side is complementary to demand-side studies as policy makers seek to stimulate the international diffusion of renewable energy technologies. The international diffusion of renewable energy technologies is necessary for countries to reach their often-ambitious targets regarding independence from fossil-based energy sources. Thus, the aim of this article is to analyse the drivers for and barriers to the international diffusion of renewable energy technologies from the perspective of technology suppliers. In doing so, a survey was conducted amongst 85 biogas technology suppliers in Sweden, with a 34% response rate. Using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), we analysed differences between their perceived barriers and drivers in the international diffusion of biogas technologies through export. Our findings suggest the need for technology and market-specific export promotion initiatives to complement the generic initiatives available for all exporters and make them more effective.