International R&D Spillovers and other Unobserved Common Spillovers and Shocks

Ruge Leiva, Diego Ivan (2015): International R&D Spillovers and other Unobserved Common Spillovers and Shocks.

Abstract

Studies which are based on Coe and Helpman (1995) and use weighted foreign R&D variables to estimate channel-specific R&D spillovers disregard the interaction between international R&D spillovers and other unobserved common spillovers and shocks. Using a panel of 50 economies from 1970-2011, we find that disregarding this interaction leads to inconsistent estimates whenever knowledge spillovers and other unobserved effects are correlated with foreign and domestic R&D. When this interaction is modeled, estimates are consistent; however, they confound foreign and domestic R&D effects with unobserved effects. Thus, the coefficient of a weighted foreign R&D variable cannot capture genuine channel-specific R&D spillovers.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Productivity, Cross-Section Dependence, Unobserved Common Spillovers and Shocks.
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Single Equation Models ; Single Variables > C23 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O11 - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O30 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General

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