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R&D and Productivity in High-Tech Manufacturing: A Comparison between Italy and Spain

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  • Alessandro Sterlacchini
  • Francesco Venturini

Abstract

Using data for 12 manufacturing industries over the period 1980-2006, we perform for Italy and Spain a dynamic panel estimation of the long-run elasticity of total factor productivity (TFP) with respect to R&D capital. In spite of recording a level of R&D capital lower than Italian industries, the technology-based industries in Spain have experienced a similar or higher long-run impact on TFP. This is mainly attributable to what occurred from the mid-1990s onwards when, thanks to increasing R&D efforts, the Spanish industries have been able to catch up with respect to the Italian ones. These findings suggest that, also in countries classified as technology followers, R&D investment is a crucial condition for boosting manufacturing productivity.

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  • Alessandro Sterlacchini & Francesco Venturini, 2014. "R&D and Productivity in High-Tech Manufacturing: A Comparison between Italy and Spain," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(5), pages 359-379, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:indinn:v:21:y:2014:i:5:p:359-379
    DOI: 10.1080/13662716.2014.959315
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    Cited by:

    1. Alessandro Sterlacchini, 2017. "The intensity of business R&D in Italy: why reducing the gap with the EU is possible and worthwhile," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 44(2), pages 245-257, June.
    2. Neil Foster-McGregor & Johannes Pöschl & Ana Rincon-Aznar & Robert Stehrer & Michaela Vecchi & Francesco Venturini, 2014. "Reducing Productivity and Efficiency Gaps: the Role of Knowledge Assets, Absorptive Capacity and Institutions," wiiw Research Reports 396, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    3. Leonard Lam, Fong Litt & Law, Siong Hook & Azman-Saini, W. N. W. & Khair-Afham, M. S. M. & Goh, Lim Thye, 2022. "High Technology Trade, Innovation and Economic Growth: Evidence from Aggregate and Disaggregate Trade Products," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 56(1), pages 15-31.
    4. Marcel Ausloos & Francesca Bartolacci & Nicola G. Castellano & Roy Cerqueti, 2018. "Exploring how innovation strategies at time of crisis influence performance: a cluster analysis perspective," Papers 1808.05893, arXiv.org.
    5. Alessandro Sterlacchini & Francesco Venturini, 2013. "Boosting Manufacturing Productivity Through R&D: International Comparisons with Special Focus on Italy," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 187-208, June.
    6. Awadhesh Pratap SINGH, 2016. "Do Technology Spillovers Accelerate Performance of Firms? Unravelling a Puzzle from Indian Manufacturing Industry," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 3, pages 108-120.
    7. Carmelo J. Leon & Yen E. Lam González & Giovanni Ruggieri & Patrizia Calò, 2022. "Assessing Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Management Programmes: Stakeholder Participation Process and Policy Implications for Transport, Energy and Tourism Sectors on the Island of Sicily," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, July.
    8. Mascarini, Suelene & Garcia , Renato & Roselino , José Eduardo, 2019. "Analysis of the effect of territorial factors on regional innovation in the state of São Paulo, Brazil," Revista Brasileira de Estudos Regionais e Urbanos, Associação Brasileira de Estudos Regionais e Urbanos (ABER), vol. 13(2), pages 183-200, October.
    9. Ioannis Bournakis & Michela Vecchi & Francesco Venturini, 2018. "Off‐Shoring, Specialization and R&D," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(1), pages 26-51, March.
    10. Marcel Ausloos & Francesca Bartolacci & Nicola G. Castellano & Roy Cerqueti, 2020. "Simple approaches on how to discover promising strategies for efficient enterprise performance, at time of crisis in the case of SMEs : Voronoi clustering and outlier effects perspective," Papers 2012.14297, arXiv.org.
    11. Raquel Ortega-Argilés, 2013. "R&D, knowledge, economic growth and the transatlantic productivity gap," Chapters, in: Frank Giarratani & Geoffrey J.D. Hewings & Philip McCann (ed.), Handbook of Industry Studies and Economic Geography, chapter 11, pages 271-302, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Nuno Campos Pereira & Nuno Araújo & Leonardo Costa, 2016. "A counting multidimensional innovation index for SMEs," Working Papers de Economia (Economics Working Papers) 01, Católica Porto Business School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
    13. Pieri, Fabio & Vecchi, Michela & Venturini, Francesco, 2018. "Modelling the joint impact of R&D and ICT on productivity: A frontier analysis approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1842-1852.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

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