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Imports, Exports and Domestic Innovation

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  • Boddin, Dominik

Abstract

By crawling online data, I create a new long-term patenting panel dataset for Germany to identify the causal effect of trade integration with Eastern Europe and China on patenting in the period 1993-2012. I exploit the cross-regional variation in the German industry structure and use trade flows to other advanced economies as instruments for regional import and export exposure. I find that an increase in the net trade exposure (defined as import- minus export exposure) causes an increase in regional patenting. This effect is purely driven by a positive link between import exposure and innovation, whereas export exposure does not influence innovation. Interestingly, the effects are heterogeneous across exposure origin. The positive link between import exposure and innovation is fully explained by trade integration with Eastern Europe. Increasing integration with China has no effects on innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Boddin, Dominik, 2018. "Imports, Exports and Domestic Innovation," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181640, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc18:181640
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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