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FDI productivity spillovers and the technology gap in Malaysia's electrical and electronic industries

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  • Noor Aini Khalifah
  • Salmah Mohd Salleh
  • Radziah Adam

Abstract

type="main"> This study measures the impact of indirect technology transfer through spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) on Malaysia's development of a ‘high-tech’ sector, namely the electrical and electronic (E&E) industries. We estimate the total factor productivity (TFP) of establishments as a function of foreign presence within and across industries. Both the fixed assets and wages share of foreign establishments in a five-digit ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification) industry are used as measures of foreign presence. The estimations provide evidence of significantly negative (or insignificant) FDI vertical spillover effects and insignificant horizontal spillover effects on the TFP of domestic establishments. The positive (negative) coefficient of the interaction term between the forward (horizontal) spillover variable and the technology gap supports the ‘catching-up’ (technology accumulation) hypothesis. The negative impact, even absence, of FDI spillover effects on TFP and the mixed evidence on the effects of interactions between FDI spillovers and the technology gap suggest that fine-tuning of fiscal incentive schemes for FDI to arrive at positive net benefits may prove to be a daunting task in the Malaysian E&E industries.

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  • Noor Aini Khalifah & Salmah Mohd Salleh & Radziah Adam, 2015. "FDI productivity spillovers and the technology gap in Malaysia's electrical and electronic industries," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 29(1), pages 142-160, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:apacel:v:29:y:2015:i:1:p:142-160
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    3. khalifah, noor & Jaafar, Zakiah, 2017. "Technical Efficiency of Establishments in Malaysia’s Electrical and Electronics Industries: Exporting or Vertical Trade?," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 51(1), pages 157-130.
    4. Sultana, Nasrin & Turkina, Ekaterina, 2020. "Foreign direct investment, technological advancement, and absorptive capacity: A network analysis," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    5. Choong, Pai Wei & khalifah, noor & Mohd Nor, Abu Hassan Shaari & Ismail, Mohd Adib, 2018. "Free Trade Agreements and Production Sharing in Malaysian Manufacturing Industries," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 52(3), pages 91-106.
    6. Andrew Jia Yi Kam, 2016. "Death of linkages in host countries? A firm-level study on the channels of productivity spillovers in the Malaysian manufacturing sector," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 30(1), pages 65-79, May.

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