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Foreign Investment and Domestic Productivity: Identifying Knowledge Spillovers and Competition Effects

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  • Sørensen, Bent E
  • Fons-Rosen, Christian
  • Kalemli-Özcan, Sebnem
  • Volosovych, Vadym
  • Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina

Abstract

We study the impact of FDI on the productivity of host-country firms. FDI has positive spillovers only when foreign and domestic firms use similar technologies. Channeling FDI to sectors where firms share similar technology would significantly increase productivity spillovers from FDI. We show that inventor mobility across sectors is a key channel of technology transfer. To deal with endogeneity concerns we control for sectoral productivity growth, construct a Bartik-style instrument based on the productivity growth of neighboring countries, and exploit differences in knowledge flows across sectors captured by an asymmetric patent citation matrix.

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  • Sørensen, Bent E & Fons-Rosen, Christian & Kalemli-Özcan, Sebnem & Volosovych, Vadym & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina, 2017. "Foreign Investment and Domestic Productivity: Identifying Knowledge Spillovers and Competition Effects," CEPR Discussion Papers 12205, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12205
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Multinationals; Competition; Technology; Selection; Fdi; TFP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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