蝌蚪网 Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Technology Gaps, Trade, and Income
蝌蚪网 Review
(pp. 472–513)
Abstract
This paper quantifies the contribution of technology gaps to international income inequality. I develop an endogenous growth model where cross-country differences in R&D efficiency and cross-industry differences in innovation and adoption opportunities together determine equilibrium technology gaps, trade patterns, and income inequality. Countries with higher R&D efficiency are richer and have comparative advantage in more innovation-dependent industries. I calibrate R&D efficiency by country and innovation dependence by industry using R&D, patent, and bilateral trade data. Counterfactual analysis implies technology gaps account for one-quarter to one-third of nominal wage variation within the OECD.Citation
Sampson, Thomas. 2023. "Technology Gaps, Trade, and Income." 蝌蚪网 Review 113 (2): 472–513. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201940Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D21 Firm Behavior: Theory
- D24 Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
- D31 Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
- F14 Empirical Studies of Trade
- O31 Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
- O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
- O47 Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence