IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/intecj/v22y2008i1p95-111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can countries create comparative advantages? R&D expenditures, high-tech exports and country size in 19 OECD countries, 1981-1999

Author

Listed:
  • Pontus Braunerhjelm
  • Per Thulin

Abstract

This paper analyses how increased R&D expenditures and market size influence the distribution of comparative advantage. Previous studies report ambiguous results and also refer to periods when markets where much more segmented and production factors less mobile. The empirical analysis comprises 19 OECD-countries and spans the period 1981 to 1999. It is shown how an increase in R&D-expenditures by one percentage point implies a three-percentage point increase in high-technology exports, whereas market size fails to attain significance. In addition, institutional factors influence the dynamics of comparative advantage.

Suggested Citation

  • Pontus Braunerhjelm & Per Thulin, 2008. "Can countries create comparative advantages? R&D expenditures, high-tech exports and country size in 19 OECD countries, 1981-1999," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 95-111.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intecj:v:22:y:2008:i:1:p:95-111
    DOI: 10.1080/10168730801887026
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10168730801887026
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/10168730801887026?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bartik, Timothy J, 1985. "Business Location Decisions in the United States: Estimates of the Effects of Unionization, Taxes, and Other Characteristics of States," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 3(1), pages 14-22, January.
    2. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 1996. "Does Economic Geography Matter for International Specialization?," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1773, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    3. Harrigan, James, 1997. "Technology, Factor Supplies, and International Specialization: Estimating the Neoclassical Model," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 475-494, September.
    4. Krugman, Paul, 1980. "Scale Economies, Product Differentiation, and the Pattern of Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(5), pages 950-959, December.
    5. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March.
    6. Davis, Donald R. & Weinstein, David E., 1999. "Economic geography and regional production structure: An empirical investigation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 379-407, February.
    7. Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano & Diego Puga, 1998. "Agglomeration in the Global Economy: A Survey of the ‘New Economic Geography’," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(6), pages 707-731, August.
    8. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1990. "Comparative Advantage and Long-run Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(4), pages 796-815, September.
    9. Leamer, Edward E. & Levinsohn, James, 1995. "International trade theory: The evidence," Handbook of International Economics, in: G. M. Grossman & K. Rogoff (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1339-1394, Elsevier.
    10. Wolfgang Keller, 2004. "International Technology Diffusion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 752-782, September.
    11. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    12. Soete, Luc, 1987. "The impact of technological innovation on international trade patterns: The evidence reconsidered," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(2-4), pages 101-130, August.
    13. Grossman, G.M., 1989. "Explaining Japan'S Innovation And Trade: A Model Of Quality Competition And Dynamic Comparative Advantage," Papers 151, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    14. Manuel Trajtenberg, 2002. "Government Support for Commercial R&D: Lessons from the Israeli Experience," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 2, pages 79-134, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Braunerhjelm, Pontus, 1996. "The relation between firm-specific intangibles and exports," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 213-219, November.
    16. Haaland, J.I. & Kind, H.J. & knarvik, K.H.M. & Torstensson, J., 1998. "What Determines the Economic Geography of Europe?," Papers 19/98, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration-.
    17. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 1991. "Quality Ladders and Product Cycles," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 557-586.
    18. Giovanni Dosi & Keith Pavitt & Luc Soete, 1990. "The Economics of Technical Change and International Trade," LEM Book Series, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy, number dosietal-1990, November.
    19. Johan Torstensson, 1998. "Country size and comparative advantage: An empirical study," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 134(4), pages 590-611, December.
    20. Venables, Anthony J, 1996. "Equilibrium Locations of Vertically Linked Industries," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(2), pages 341-359, May.
    21. Jan Fagerberg & Pär Hansson & Lars Lundberg & Arne Melchoir (ed.), 1997. "Technology and International Trade," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1192.
    22. Raymond Vernon, 1966. "International Investment and International Trade in the Product Cycle," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 80(2), pages 190-207.
    23. Coughlin, Cletus C & Terza, Joseph V & Arromdee, Vachira, 1991. "State Characteristics and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment within the United States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(4), pages 675-683, November.
    24. Krugman, Paul, 1987. "The narrow moving band, the Dutch disease, and the competitive consequences of Mrs. Thatcher : Notes on trade in the presence of dynamic scale economies," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1-2), pages 41-55, October.
    25. K. J. Arrow, 1971. "The Economic Implications of Learning by Doing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: F. H. Hahn (ed.), Readings in the Theory of Growth, chapter 11, pages 131-149, Palgrave Macmillan.
    26. Fujita,Masahisa & Thisse,Jacques-François, 2013. "Economics of Agglomeration," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107001411, January.
    27. Greenaway, David & Torstensson, Johan, 2000. "Economic Geography, Comparative Advantage and Trade within Industries: Evidence from the OECD," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 15, pages 260-280.
    28. Philip McCann & Ram Mudambi, 2004. "The Location Behavior of the Multinational Enterprise: Some Analytical Issues," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 491-524, September.
    29. K.H. Midelfart & H.G. Overman & S.J. Redding & A.J. Venables, 2000. "The location of European industry," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 142, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    30. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    31. Jonathan Eaton & Eva Gutierrez & Samuel Kortum, 1998. "European technology policy," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 13(27), pages 404-438.
    32. Giuseppe Nicoletti & Stefano Scarpetta & Olivier Boylaud, 2000. "Summary Indicators of Product Market Regulation with an Extension to Employment Protection Legislation," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 226, OECD Publishing.
    33. Folster, Stefan & Henrekson, Magnus, 2001. "Growth effects of government expenditure and taxation in rich countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1501-1520, August.
    34. Israel M. Kirzner, 1997. "Entrepreneurial Discovery and the Competitive Market Process: An Austrian Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 60-85, March.
    35. Gustavsson, Patrik & Hansson, Par & Lundberg, Lars, 1999. "Technology, resource endowments and international competitiveness," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1501-1530, August.
    36. Redding, Stephen, 1999. "Dynamic Comparative Advantage and the Welfare Effects of Trade," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 15-39, January.
    37. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    38. Kneller, Richard & Bleaney, Michael F. & Gemmell, Norman, 1999. "Fiscal policy and growth: evidence from OECD countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 171-190, November.
    39. Trefler, Daniel, 1995. "The Case of the Missing Trade and Other Mysteries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1029-1046, December.
    40. Erik Lundbäck & Johan Torstensson, 1998. "Demand, comparative advantage and economic geography in international trade: Evidence from the OECD," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 134(2), pages 230-249, June.
    41. Antoine Magnier & Joël Toujas-Bernate, 1994. "Technology and trade: Empirical evidences for the major five industrialized countries," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 130(3), pages 494-520, September.
    42. Jan Fagerberg, 1995. "Is there a large-country advantage in high-tech?," Working Papers Archives 1995526, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    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. Wang, Feilan & Wong, Wing-Keung & Reivan Ortiz, Geovanny Genaro & Shraah, Ata Al & Mabrouk, Fatma & Li, Jianfeng & Li, Zeyun, 2023. "Economic analysis of sustainable exports value addition through natural resource management and artificial intelligence," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Phan Thanh Hoan & Duong Thi Dieu My, 2022. "The Determinants of Vietnam’s Information and Communication Technologies Exports to the European Union," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 57(2), pages 148-159, May.
    3. Edinaldo Tebaldi, 2011. "The Determinants of High-Technology Exports: A Panel Data Analysis," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 39(4), pages 343-353, December.
    4. Andersson, Martin & Johansson, Sara, 2010. "Human capital and the structure of regional export flows," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 230-240.
    5. Armando Garcia Pires, 2014. "Beyond Trade Costs: Firms’ Endogenous Access to International Markets," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 229-257, June.
    6. Burak Sencer Atasoy, 2021. "The determinants of export sophistication: Does digitalization matter?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5135-5159, October.
    7. Klimis Vogiatzoglou, 2009. "Determinants of Export Specialization in ICT Products: A Cross-Country Analysis," Working Papers 2009.3, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    8. Ghannouchi, Imen, 2023. "Examining the dynamic nexus between industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable economy: New insights from empirical evidence using GMM estimator across 20 OECD nations," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    9. Mohd. Fayaz & Sandeep Kaur Bhatia, 2018. "Technological Intensity of Indian Exports and the Performance of Emerging Asian Economies," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 4(1), pages 62-77, May.
    10. Mohd. FAYAZ & Sandeep KAUR, 2019. "An Empirical Analysis Of The Determinants Of India’S High-Technology Exports," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 19(2), pages 29-44.
    11. Hadad Shahrazad, 2018. "The geographic distribution of Knowledge Economy (KE) within the European Union (EU)," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 13(3), pages 1089-1107, September.
    12. Yusuf Bayraktutan & Hanife Bıdırdı, 2018. "Innovation and High-Tech Exports in Developed and Developing Countries," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(03), pages 1-21, October.
    13. Dina Dardir, 2020. "Does the R&D Public Procurement Matter for High-Tech Exports? Evidence from the USA," Post-Print hal-04048942, HAL.

    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. Head, Keith & Mayer, Thierry, 2004. "The empirics of agglomeration and trade," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 59, pages 2609-2669, Elsevier.
    2. Henry Overman & Stephen Redding & Anthony J. Venables, 2001. "The Economic Geography of Trade, Production, and Income: A Survey of Empirics," CEP Discussion Papers dp0508, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/10191 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/10191 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Gustavsson, Patrik, 2002. "The Dynamics of European Industrial Structure," Working Paper Series 176, Trade Union Institute for Economic Research.
    6. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/10191 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/10191 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. J.Peter Neary, 2001. "Of Hype and Hyperbolas: Introducing the New Economic Geography," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 536-561, June.
    9. Yvonne Wolfmayr, 2000. "Economic Integration, Specialisation and the Location of Industries. A Survey of the Theoretical Literature," Austrian Economic Quarterly, WIFO, vol. 5(2), pages 73-80, May.
    10. H. Hanson, Gordon, 2005. "Market potential, increasing returns and geographic concentration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 1-24, September.
    11. Armando Garcia Pires, 2012. "International trade and competitiveness," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 50(3), pages 727-763, August.
    12. Gordon H. Hanson, 2000. "Scale Economies and the Geographic Concentration of Industry," NBER Working Papers 8013, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Simonetta Longhi & Peter Nijkamp & Iulia Traistaru, 2003. "Determinants of Manufacturing Location in EU Accession Countries," ERSA conference papers ersa03p310, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Stéphane Riou, 2003. "Géographie, croissance et politique de cohésion en Europe," Revue Française d'Économie, Programme National Persée, vol. 17(3), pages 171-220.
    15. Traistaru, Iulia & Nijkamp, Peter & Longhi, Simonetta, 2002. "Regional specialization and concentration of industrial activity in accession countries," ZEI Working Papers B 16-2002, University of Bonn, ZEI - Center for European Integration Studies.
    16. Gong, Guan & Keller, Wolfgang, 2003. "Convergence and polarization in global income levels: a review of recent results on the role of international technology diffusion," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1055-1079, June.
    17. F Trionfetti, 1999. "On the Home Market Effect: Theory and Empirical Evidence," CEP Discussion Papers dp0430, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Greenaway, David & Torstensson, Johan, 2000. "Economic Geography, Comparative Advantage and Trade within Industries: Evidence from the OECD," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 15, pages 260-280.
    19. Paulo Bastos & Manuel Cabral, 2007. "The Dynamics of International Trade Patterns," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 143(3), pages 391-415, October.
    20. Andrea Brasili & Paolo Epifani & Rodolfo Helg, 1999. "On the dynamics of trade patterns," LIUC Papers in Economics 61, Cattaneo University (LIUC).
    21. Pontus Braunerhjelm & Per Thulin, 2009. "Agglomeration, Relative Wage Costs and Foreign Direct Investment—Evidence from Swedish MNCs 1974–1998," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 197-217, September.
    22. Fabien Candau, 2008. "Entrepreneurs' Location Choice And Public Policies: A Survey Of The New Economic Geography," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 909-952, December.
    23. Stephen J. Redding, 2013. "Economic Geography: A Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Daniel Bernhofen & Rod Falvey & David Greenaway & Udo Kreickemeier (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of International Trade, chapter 16, pages 497-531, Palgrave Macmillan.
    24. Peter M. Morrow, 2008. "East is East and West is West: A Ricardian-Heckscher-Ohlin Model of Comparative Advantage," Working Papers 575, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    dynamic comparative advantage; R&D; market size; institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:intecj:v:22:y:2008:i:1:p:95-111. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RIEJ20 .

    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.