IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i3p581-d200031.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

FDI and International Knowledge Diffusion: An Examination of the Evolution of Comparative Advantage

Author

Listed:
  • Zhaobin Fan

    (International Business School, Jinan University, 601 Huangpu W Ave, Guangzhou 510632, China)

  • Hui Li

    (School of Mathematics, University of Birmingham, Ring Rd W, Birmingham B15 2TS, UK)

  • Lin Pan

    (International Business School, Jinan University, 601 Huangpu W Ave, Guangzhou 510632, China)

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of FDI in international knowledge diffusion with a focus on the evolution of the comparative advantage of FDI-host and FDI-source countries. We use data on 99 countries, which leads to 876 country pairs, over the 2001 to 2012 period. Spatial autoregressive (SAR) models are used to investigate the impact of bilateral FDI on the similarity of the comparative advantage between the host and source countries. Empirical results show that the effect of the bilateral FDI on the evolution of the comparative advantage of the host and source countries is statistically significant. Specifically, the larger the scale of bilateral FDI, the more similar the comparative advantage between the host and source countries becomes. We also find that the impact of FDI on international knowledge diffusion is heterogeneous across country pairs and this effect varies across the development gap between the source and host countries. In the case of countries that are not very different in terms of their level of economic development, bilateral FDI has a relatively more significant effect on the similarity of the comparative advantage between countries. Moreover, we find that the similarity of the comparative advantage is spatially correlated, and FDI linkages between country pairs strengthen the spatial correlations.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhaobin Fan & Hui Li & Lin Pan, 2019. "FDI and International Knowledge Diffusion: An Examination of the Evolution of Comparative Advantage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:581-:d:200031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/581/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/581/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lu, Yi & Tao, Zhigang & Zhu, Lianming, 2017. "Identifying FDI spillovers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 75-90.
    2. Brian Aitken & Ann Harrison & Robert E. Lipsey, 2022. "Wages and foreign ownership A comparative study of Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 4, pages 61-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Arrow, Kenneth J, 1969. "Classificatory Notes on the Production and Transmission of Technological Knowledge," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(2), pages 29-35, May.
    4. Paul Elhorst & Eelco Zandberg & Jakob De Haan, 2013. "The Impact of Interaction Effects among Neighbouring Countries on Financial Liberalization and Reform: A Dynamic Spatial Panel Data Approach," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 293-313, September.
    5. Robert C. Johnson, 2014. "Five Facts about Value-Added Exports and Implications for Macroeconomics and Trade Research," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(2), pages 119-142, Spring.
    6. Jingjing Yang & Helian Xu & Chengang Wang & Mingyong Lai & Yingqi Wei, 2009. "Productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment in Chinese industries," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 429-446.
    7. Xiaowen Tian & Shuanglin Lin & Vai Io Lo, 2004. "Foreign direct investment and economic performance in transition economies: evidence from China," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 497-510.
    8. Xiaming Liu & Pamela Siler & Chengqi Wang & Yingqi Wei, 2000. "Productivity Spillovers From Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence From UK Industry Level Panel Data," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(3), pages 407-425, September.
    9. Howard Pack & Kamal Saggi, 1997. "Inflows of Foreign Technology and Indigenous Technological Development," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 81-98, February.
    10. Damijan, Joze P. & Knell, Mark & Majcen, Boris & Rojec, Matija, 2003. "The role of FDI, R&D accumulation and trade in transferring technology to transition countries: evidence from firm panel data for eight transition countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 189-204, June.
    11. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Policies to Encourage Inflows of Technology through Foreign Multinationals," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 13, pages 203-220, Palgrave Macmillan.
    12. Borensztein, E. & De Gregorio, J. & Lee, J-W., 1998. "How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?1," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 115-135, June.
    13. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    14. James R. MARKUSEN, 2021. "Multinationals, Multi-Plant Economies, And The Gains From Trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 1, pages 3-24, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    15. Alfaro, Laura & Chanda, Areendam & Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem & Sayek, Selin, 2004. "FDI and economic growth: the role of local financial markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 89-112, October.
    16. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March.
    17. Lall, Sanjaya, 1980. "Vertical Inter-Firm Linkages in LDCs: An Empirical Study," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 42(3), pages 203-226, August.
    18. Newman, Carol & Rand, John & Talbot, Theodore & Tarp, Finn, 2015. "Technology transfers, foreign investment and productivity spillovers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 168-187.
    19. Lin, Ping & Liu, Zhuomin & Zhang, Yifan, 2009. "Do Chinese domestic firms benefit from FDI inflow?: Evidence of horizontal and vertical spillovers," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 677-691, December.
    20. Bahar, Dany & Hausmann, Ricardo & Hidalgo, Cesar A., 2014. "Neighbors and the evolution of the comparative advantage of nations: Evidence of international knowledge diffusion?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 111-123.
    21. Fredrik Sjoholm, 1999. "Technology gap, competition and spillovers from direct foreign investment: Evidence from establishment data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 53-73.
    22. Beata Smarzynska Javorcik, 2004. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers Through Backward Linkages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 605-627, June.
    23. Wolfgang Keller, 2004. "International Technology Diffusion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 752-782, September.
    24. Perri, Alessandra & Andersson, Ulf & Nell, Phillip C. & Santangelo, Grazia D., 2013. "Balancing the trade-off between learning prospects and spillover risks: MNC subsidiaries’ vertical linkage patterns in developed countries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 503-514.
    25. Jarle Hildrum & Dieter Ernst & Jan Fagerberg, 2011. "The Complex Interaction between Global Production Networks, Digital Information Systems and International Knowledge Transfers," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    26. Chengchun Li & Sailesh Tanna, 2018. "FDI Spillover Effects in China’s Manufacturing Sector: New Evidence From Forward and Backward Linkages," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Nicholas Tsounis & Aspasia Vlachvei (ed.), Advances in Panel Data Analysis in Applied Economic Research, chapter 0, pages 203-222, Springer.
    27. Kinoshita, Yuko, 2001. "R&D and Technology Spillovers through FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    28. repec:bla:econom:v:41:y:1974:i:162:p:176-93 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Dries, Liesbeth & Swinnen, Johan F. M., 2004. "Foreign Direct Investment, Vertical Integration, and Local Suppliers: Evidence from the Polish Dairy Sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1525-1544, September.
    30. Sophia Dimelis & Helen Louri, 2002. "Foreign ownership and production efficiency: a quantile regression analysis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 449-469, July.
    31. Simmons, Beth A. & Elkins, Zachary, 2004. "The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 98(1), pages 171-189, February.
    32. Lin, Ping & Saggi, Kamal, 2007. "Multinational firms, exclusivity, and backward linkages," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 206-220, March.
    33. Bottazzi, Laura & Peri, Giovanni, 2003. "Innovation and spillovers in regions: Evidence from European patent data," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 687-710, August.
    34. Wang, Cassandra C. & Wu, Aiqi, 2016. "Geographical FDI knowledge spillover and innovation of indigenous firms in China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 895-906.
    35. Xu, Bin, 2000. "Multinational enterprises, technology diffusion, and host country productivity growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 477-493, August.
    36. Steven Globerman, 1979. "Foreign Direct Investment and `Spillover' Efficiency Benefits in Canadian Manufacturing Industries," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 12(1), pages 42-56, February.
    37. Peter J Buckley & Jeremy Clegg & Chengqi Wang, 2007. "Is the relationship between inward FDI and spillover effects linear? An empirical examination of the case of China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(3), pages 447-459, May.
    38. Nicholas Tsounis & Aspasia Vlachvei (ed.), 2018. "Advances in Panel Data Analysis in Applied Economic Research," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, Springer, number 978-3-319-70055-7, December.
    39. Orlic, Edvard & Hashi, Iraj & Hisarciklilar, Mehtap, 2018. "Cross sectoral FDI spillovers and their impact on manufacturing productivity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 777-796.
    40. Ha, Yoo Jung & Giroud, Axèle, 2015. "Competence-creating subsidiaries and FDI technology spillovers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 605-614.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tengfei Wang & Henrik Halkier & Laura James & Renxu Gu & Cheng Chi, 2022. "External Knowledge Linkages and the Evolution of Comparative Advantage: An Examination of Territorial Knowledge Dynamics in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    2. Klaus E Meyer & Evis Sinani, 2009. "When and where does foreign direct investment generate positive spillovers? A meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1075-1094, September.
    3. Crespo, Nuno & Fontoura, Maria Paula, 2007. "Determinant Factors of FDI Spillovers - What Do We Really Know?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 410-425, March.
    4. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Maria Cipollina & Giorgia Giovannetti & Filomena Pietrovito & Alberto F. Pozzolo, 2012. "FDI and Growth: What Cross-country Industry Data Say," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(11), pages 1599-1629, November.
    6. Nuno Crespo & Maria Paula Fontoura & Isabel Proença, 2009. "FDI spillovers at regional level: Evidence from Portugal," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(3), pages 591-607, August.
    7. Segundo Camino-Mogro & Natalia Bermúdez-Barrezueta & Mary Armijos, 2023. "Is FDI a potential tool for boosting firm’s performance? Firm level evidence from Ecuador," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 341-391, April.
    8. Matija Rojec & Mark Knell, 2018. "Why Is There A Lack Of Evidence On Knowledge Spillovers From Foreign Direct Investment?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 579-612, July.
    9. Bahar, Dany & Hausmann, Ricardo & Hidalgo, Cesar A., 2014. "Neighbors and the evolution of the comparative advantage of nations: Evidence of international knowledge diffusion?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 111-123.
    10. Dany Bahar & Hillel Rapoport, 2018. "Migration, Knowledge Diffusion and the Comparative Advantage of Nations," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(612), pages 273-305, July.
    11. Lu, Qian & Zhao, Yunhui, 2010. "Spillover Effects of FDI in China: From the Perspective of Technology Gaps," MPRA Paper 81084, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Harrison, Ann & Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés, 2010. "Trade, Foreign Investment, and Industrial Policy for Developing Countries," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4039-4214, Elsevier.
    13. Keller, Wolfgang, 2010. "International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, and Technology Spillovers," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 793-829, Elsevier.
    14. Muller, Thomas & Schnitzer, Monika, 2006. "Technology transfer and spillovers in international joint ventures," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 456-468, March.
    15. Beugelsdijk, Sjoerd & Smeets, Roger & Zwinkels, Remco, 2008. "The impact of horizontal and vertical FDI on host's country economic growth," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 452-472, August.
    16. Roberta Piermartini & Stela Rubínová, 2021. "How much do global value chains boost innovation?," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 892-922, May.
    17. Laura Alfaro & Areendam Chanda & Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan & Selin Sayek, 2006. "How Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Exploring the Effects of Financial Markets on Linkages," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_023, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    18. Lishi Liu & Shuang Meng & Jiajie Yu, 2022. "Innovation from Spatial Spillovers of FDI and the Threshold Effect of Urbanization: Evidence from Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, May.
    19. Tomáš Havránek & Zuzana Iršová, 2010. "Meta-Analysis of Intra-Industry FDI Spillovers: Updated Evidence," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 60(2), pages 151-174, May.
    20. Bournakis, Ioannis & Papanastassiou, Marina & Papaioannou, Sotiris, 2020. "Multinationals and Domestic TFP: Market Shares, Agglomerations Gains and Foreign Ownership," MPRA Paper 106626, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:581-:d:200031. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.