Knowledge Production Function Research Articles

Estimating the influence of KIBS spillovers through the knowledge production function and the role of international trade

A research gap exists regarding how research and development (R&D) expenditures contribute to the generation of innovative spillovers through knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), particularly within the manufacturing and business services subsectors. These spillovers have a networking effect on innovation products in the manufacturing and services subsectors, as captured by the knowledge production function (KPF). The study proposes a two-stage model for analyzing the elasticities of production and economies of scale that arise from estimating singular knowledge production functions within a regional trade system. This model is tested for the case of the trade agreement of the United States, Mexico, and Canada (USMCA). The main results express that R&D expenditures embodied in KIBS spillovers have a significant effect on the generation of innovation outputs, in each of the USMCA countries and, reveal increasing returns to scale. Also, KPF elasticities, for the capital and the labor variables, proved to be inelastic and exhibited constant returns to scale. Additionally, the different estimates in each one of the USMCA countries expose diverse technologies of scale among the three countries.

Innovation Strategies and Technical Efficiency

In the innovation literature, little attention has been paid to technical efficiency as a measure of performance, despite the fact that technical efficiency is key to explaining firm productivity. In this study we analyze the influence of internal R&D, external R&D and R&D cooperation on the technical efficiency of the firm. The data used come from the Panel de Innovación Tecnológica 2016 for Spanish companies, from whose database we have selected the set of innovative manufacturing firms. To estimate the coefficients of interest we have constructed a knowledge production function, estimated using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and the Heckman correction. The results indicate that both internal R&D and R&D cooperation have a positive and significant influence on technical efficiency, while external R&D has a significant negative relationship. Knowing this type of information in advance is very important for business managers and policy makers, since it facilitates decision-making on innovation strategies, as well as the formulation of public policies to support innovation leading to an efficient allocation of public resources.

Modeling regional innovation in Egyptian governorates: Regional knowledge production function approach

Knowledge and innovation have become a significant source of modern regional development. The paper aims to study the spatial association of innovation and model innovation, besides critiquing regional innovation policy, using the regional knowledge production function approach. At the level of the Egyptian governorates, the number of patent applications has been used as a proxy for innovation. The study uses cross‐sectional data for patents in 2018 with lagged time variables for knowledge input factors. The study contributes towards applying the knowledge production function at the level of the Egyptian governorates for the first time. Exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression are used, using the knowledge sources and localized characteristics. Our analysis found that research and development activities for academic institutions are associated with innovation outputs. In the context of the Egyptian regional innovation system, the contribution of private research activities is perceived to be negligible, and the innovation outputs are highly associated with the spatial association of the Egyptian governorates.

Analysis of the spatial influences on innovation efficiency of enterprises with different ownership in China: high‐tech industry as an example

AbstractEnterprises have different behavioral characteristics depending on their ownership structure and their nature and play different roles in promoting economic development. In order to explore the innovation behavior characteristics of private enterprises, state‐owned enterprises, Hong Kong‐, Macao‐, and Taiwan‐funded enterprises, and foreign‐funded enterprises in China's high‐tech industry, this paper constructs spatial lag models and varying coefficient spatial lag models within the framework of knowledge production functions. It not only evaluates the technological innovation performance of various types of enterprises in high‐tech industries but also comprehensively explores the differences in the impact of external environments such as spatial dependence and business environment on the innovation efficiency of various types of enterprises. The results of the study provide a reference for enterprise managers and investors to efficiently allocate the scarce resources for innovation investment.

The relationship between the agriculture and agro-industrial complex' development and the rural areas' sustainable development, including the social infrastructure's development

Vertinova A.A. [Methodology for assessing the level of co-development of universities and the region as an ecosystem]. Regional'naya ekonomika i upravlenie: elektronnyi nauchnyi zhurnal, 2021, no. 2. (In Russ.) URL: Link Navrotski A.V., Shakhovskaya L.S., Matcovskaya J.S. [The role of supporting regional universities in socio-economic development of Russian territories]. Izvestiya Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta = Izvestia Volgograd State Technical University, 2017, no. 2, pp. 8–15. URL: Link%20-%202017.pdf (In Russ.) Baeva O.N. [Evaluating return on education at regional level]. Upravlenets = The Manager, 2013, no. 2, pp. 64–69. URL: Link (In Russ.) Nikitina E.V., Chistnikova I.V., Orlova A.V. [Economic potential of regions and assesment of efficiency of its use]. Nauchnye vedomosti Belgorodskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya. Politologiya. Ekonomika. Informatika = Belgorod State University Scientific Bulletin. History. Political Science. Economics. Information Technologies, 2012, no. 13, pp. 60–65. URL: Link (In Russ.) Ogurtsova E.V., Perfileva O.V., Firsova A.A. [Indicators of the university’s contribution to the innovative development of the region]. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz = University Management: Practice and Analysis, 2017, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 53–62. (In Russ.) URL: Link Trencher G., Nagao M., Chen C. et al. Implementing Sustainability Co-Creation between Universities and Society: A Typology-Based Understanding. Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, iss. 4. URL: Link Uyarra E. Conceptualizing the Regional Roles of Universities, Implications and Contradictions. European Planning Studies, 2010, vol. 18, iss. 8, pp. 1227–1246. URL: Link Bramwell A., Wolfe D.A. Universities and Regional Economic Development: The Entrepreneurial University of Waterloo. Research Policy, 2008, vol. 37, iss. 8, pp. 1175–1187. URL: Link Ponds R., Van Oort F., Frenken K. Innovation, Spillovers and University–Industry Collaboration: An Extended Knowledge Production Function Approach. Journal of Economic Geography, 2010, vol. 10, iss. 2, pp. 231–255. URL: Link Nechaeva M.L., Zhdankina I.Yu., Udalov F.E. [Inter-municipal cooperation as a tool for the development of regional municipal entities]. Regional'naya ekonomika: teoriya i praktika = Regional Economics: Theory and Practice, 2022, vol. 20, iss. 6, pp. 1052–1077. (In Russ.) URL: Link Sibiryaev A.S. [Rural development: results and methodology of ongoing scientific research]. Vestnik NGIEI = Bulletin NGIEI, 2023, no. 6, pp. 129–137. URL: Link (In Russ.) Shamin A.E., Zueva S.V. [Sustainable development of rural areas in the regional economy of the country]. Vestnik NGIEI = Bulletin NGIEI, 2022, no. 1, pp. 101–111. (In Russ.) URL: Link

Information accessibility and knowledge creation: the impact of Google’s withdrawal from China on scientific research

ABSTRACT How important is Google for scientific research? This paper exploits the exogenous shock represented by Google’s sudden withdrawal of its services from mainland China to assess the importance of access to information for the knowledge production function of scientific scholars in the field of economics. For economists, a type of scholar with a simple knowledge production function, results from difference-in-difference analyses, which compare their scientific output to scholars located in the neighbouring regions, show that the scientific productivity declines by about 28% in volume and 30% in terms of citations. These results are consistent with the view that information accessibility is an important driver of scientific progress. Considering that the negative effect of the shock is stronger for top scholars located in China, Google’s sudden exit bears the risk that researchers lose touch with the research frontier and persistently lag behind their foreign peers.

Representations of an Ebola ‘outbreak’ through Story Technologies

BackgroundAttempts to understand biosocial phenomena using scientific methods are often presented as value-neutral and objective; however, when used to reduce the complexity of open systems such as epidemics, these forms...

Linkage‐ and structure‐based technological proximity and interregional spillovers of innovation growth

AbstractThis paper explores the roles of different types of technological proximity on the interregional spillovers of innovation growth. Using a panel dataset containing Chinese province patents and R&D inputs from 2002 to 2019, this paper estimates a knowledge production function with the spatial weight matrices constructed based on the linkage‐based and structure‐based technological proximity. We find that the two types of technological proximity are significantly different and their contributions to interregional innovation spillovers differ. The structure‐based proximity shows a lower influence on spillovers and its effect in the process of interregional innovation spillovers is affected by the regional development level. This paper originates to clarify two conceptualizations of technological proximity, compare their influences on innovation spillovers, and explore their regional differences.

Regional heterogeneity and the effects of the related and unrelated varieties on innovation

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of the related and unrelated varieties on innovation considering regional heterogeneity across locations. Previous studies show that, in general, the related and unrelated varieties can affect innovation, but they rarely consider regional heterogeneity across locations. We use the regional knowledge production function with panel data on Brazilian microregions between 2002 and 2017 to analyse the effect of the related and unrelated varieties on innovation, considering the huge regional heterogeneity in Brazil. Our results show that the related variety is associated with both upper‐ and lower‐level innovation, while the unrelated variety has stronger effects on upper‐level innovation. Furthermore, the relationship between relatedness and innovation is different across Brazilian regions.

KIBS spillovers in the knowledge production function of manufacturing and services sub-sectors at the USMCA countries

In this paper, the knowledge production function is estimated by regressing R&D knowledge spillovers, capital investment and labor productivity on innovation generation, variable measured as filled patents, in the manufacturing and services sectors of each one of the three countries that integrate the USMCA Agreement (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement). The results state that direct and indirect spillovers of KIBS R&D expenses, reinforced by capital investment and labor productivity measures, have a significative influence on the number of patents filled by each country over the years analyzed on those sub-sectors of the USMCA economy. That positive and causal effect generates knowledge production value chains from KIBS consultancies to the manufacturing and the services subsectors and backwards therefore reinforcing the value creation system of those services; also, by promoting the development of new goods and services by innovating in the production or administrative processes of the enterprises immerse on those subsectors (the embodied effect). The conclusions could serve as basis for the analysis of the sectorial policies that have to be stipulated by the conjunction of the politicians of the three countries, in the institutions already been established by the USMCA agreement in recent years. Keywords: KIBS, I-O direct and indirect impacts, USMCA, knowledge spillovers, manufacturing and service sectors, patents, innovation, knowledge production function.

Enterprise R&D, manufacturing innovation and macroeconomic impact: An evaluation of China’s Policy

Amidst economic downturn pressures, major countries emphasized the manufacturing industry and increased research and development (R&D) investments to realize innovation in manufacturing. Manufacturing enterprises are the main performers of R&D investments, so it is imperative for policymakers to accurately evaluate the policy effect of different industrial tendency and policy intensity on growth. The impact of the overall R&D expenditure on macroeconomy or the effectiveness of enterprises’ R&D investment on business profit has been reported in a great deal of literature, but so far, the impacts of enterprises’ R&D have little been experimented at the macro level and industrial level. This paper improves the knowledge production function and structured a regional dynamic computable general equilibrium model to simulate the multi-dimensional macroeconomic impact of enterprises’ R&D investment. The results show that enterprises’ R&D investment has a significant role in promoting economic output, residents’ welfare, price control, and international trade, and its impact is declining over time. The impacts of enterprises’ R&D on different industries are heterogeneous; industries with lower knowledge capital are more sensitive to R&D investment. These findings contribute to the effectiveness of R&D policies.

The Changing Economics of Knowledge Production

Abstract Big data technologies change the way in which data and labor combine to create knowledge. Is this a modest innovation or a data revolution? Using hiring and wage data, we estimate firms’ data stocks and their knowledge production functions. Quantifying changes in production functions informs us about the likely long-run changes in output, in factor shares, and in the distribution of income, due to big data technologies. For the investment management industry, our structural estimates predict a 5% decline in the labor share of income; that change is comparable to similar estimates for the industrial revolution. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online

RETRACTED: Green innovations and patents in OECD countries

Green transition is important for the economics of the OECD countries and their transition to cleaner production. This paper estimates a knowledge production function consisting of a system of innovation inputs, innovation outputs, and productivity with feedback effect from productivity on innovation investments. The model accounts for productivity shock, endogeneity of inputs, and their simultaneity and interdependence. Productivity shock is a latent unobserved component that is specified in terms of observable factors. The model is estimated using Bayesian methods organized around Marco Chain Sequential Monte Carlo iteration techniques also known as Particle Filtering. For the empirical part, the paper uses balanced panel data covering 27 OECD countries' green innovation and patents activities observed during the period 1990–2018. Our empirical results show evidence of significant heterogeneity in productivity and its relationship with its identified determinants. The paper also discusses the implications of these results for OECD countries’ green growth strategies.

Global value chains and knowledge spillover to local economy in Visegrad 4 countries

AbstractThis study empirically examines knowledge spillover in Visegrad Four (V4) countries, with an emphasis on global value chains (GVCs). Using patent statistics, the study aims to estimate the knowledge production function, including domestic and foreign knowledge stocks, and found that international knowledge spillover does not contribute much to the innovation of the local economy in the V4 countries because of three factors: i) multinational corporations' (MNCs) strategy to locate a low-cost production base, ii) MNCs' strategy to locate supporting (process, production or non-core product related) research and development (R&D) activities and iii) limited technology spillover effect from MNCs to local firms. Local firms in the V4 countries became dependent on the peripheral products and technologies provided by MNCs, and as a result, local R&D activities in the V4 countries were diverted from patentable innovation.

Set skilled workers free: the mobility of workers and innovation in Brazil

ABSTRACTSkilled workers mobility is an important means by which knowledge can be transferred across regions, leading to positive effects on innovation and interactive learning. In this paper, we aim to analyse whether the interregional mobility of skilled workers has impact on innovation at the regional level. We use microdata on employment in Brazil to track the mobility of skilled workers, focusing on STEM occupations. We apply the knowledge production function approach to assess the impact of mobility on regional innovation, focusing on the interregional mobility of skilled workers in an emerging country such as Brazil. Our results show that the mobility of skilled workers has a positive impact on regional innovation and that the circulation of skilled workers can generate positive externalities due to the presence of new knowledge in a region and by increasing opportunities for interactions.

Knowledge production and innovation: the potential of local universities to create technology-based companies in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais

This paper analyses the effects of the human capital (university researchers and graduate students) and the knowledge assets (academic publications, academic patent petitions and postgrad scholarship numbers) of the universities of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, on the creation of technology-based companies (TBCs) in its 12 mesoregions. Based on the InovaData-MG TBC census and open government data from the years 2000 to 2017, this study seeks to outline a knowledge production function for the Minas Gerais ecosystem and explore possible divergences in the innovation potential of its mesoregions. The negative binomial regression model was used to test hypotheses using variables from the state's mesoregions that quantify the human capital characteristics that generate research and its knowledge assets to assess their influence on the new TBC creation. The data analysis methodology has an explanatory and predictive character which made it possible to verify part of the proposed empirical model's validity. The results of this work confirm that human capital of universities and region maturity positively influences the average propensity to create new TBC.

Are ideas being fished out?

This paper examines whether declining research productivity can be explained by fishing out—is the production of new knowledge decreasing in the level of existing knowledge? We estimate the knowledge production function for US firms and find instead that knowledge production is increasing in the knowledge stock. This is reinforced by the observations that maximum research productivity across firms is increasing over time, and that research productivity year effects continue to exhibit decline after modeling contributions from knowledge and research labor. Given that fishing out appears unable to explain the decline in research productivity, we offer preliminary evidence of contingent factors that might contribute to the decline.

Research on the Impact of Human Capital and R&D Investment on Manufacturing Technology Innovation

The development of China's economy towards high quality requires that the manufacturing industry must speed up the pace of structural adjustment, carry out technological innovation and master the core technology. This paper constructs the knowledge production function in the form of double logarithm linear, studies the relationship between human capital, R&D investment and manufacturing technology innovation through the patent determination equation and new product determination equation, and divides the technology innovation process into two stages: technology development and technology achievement transformation. The empirical results show that the promotion effects of human capital and R&D investment in manufacturing technology development and technological achievements transformation are different. In the process of technology achievement transformation, R&D investment has a better promotion effect, while in the technology development stage, human capital has a better promotion effect. After adding control variables, the regression results of human capital and R&D investment are still robust. On the basis of theoretical assumptions and empirical analysis, this paper puts forward relevant countermeasures and suggestions for manufacturing technology innovation.

Agglomeration, recombinant innovation and the role of market reforms in a transitioning China

ABSTRACT This paper estimates a knowledge production function to study the effects of local spillovers on the patenting activity and new innovation sales of Chinese firms during a period marked by rapid economic reform. We show that local spillovers expected to arise between co-located firms in related industries encourages firm innovation outcomes, especially among firms that diversify their core competencies into new related (versus unrelated) technological domains. Exploiting the gradual and spatially uneven economic transitioning process as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that the positive effects of relatedness on firm innovation are significantly larger in size following more intense market-oriented reforms. The results are potentially relevant for policy-makers in transitioning economies, highlighting for the first time the importance of firms' own diversification process and market-oriented reforms for encouraging innovation-enhancing technological related spillovers.

The Spatial Spillover Effect of College Students’ Entrepreneurial Activeness Degree

Analyzing the influence of the spatial spillover effect of college students’ Entrepreneurial Activeness Degree (EAD) in each region on the cultivation intensity of their Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ability (IEA) is of certain theoretical and practical significance. However, in the research of domestic scholars, when studying the relationship between the EAD of college students and the cultivation intensity of their IEA, they generally give comprehensive evaluations based on the Evaluation Index Systems (EISs) they built, few of them have concerned about the spatial spillover effect of the EAD of college students, and relevant analysis based on spatial measurement method is rarely seen. To fill in this research blank, this paper aims to study the spatial spillover effect of the EAD of college students based on the improvement of IEA. At first, the paper gave the analysis framework of EAD, and adopted a layer-by-layer vertical and horizontal scatter degree method to perform dynamic measurement on the EAD of college students based on evaluation data collected from different regions. Then, this paper built a college student innovation and entrepreneurial Knowledge Production Function (KPF) model and used it to analyze the relationship between IEA cultivation intensity and the EAD of college students, thereby attaining the development status and spatial spillovers of the entrepreneurial activities of college students. At last, experimental results proved the effectiveness of the measurement method and the constructed model, and the analysis results of the spatial spillover effect in the study regions were given.