Technology and economic inequality effects on international trade

The notion that technology plays a key role in explaining trade performed was supported in the last decades by many empirical studies. In this paper we use a different perspective trying to analyse the effects of technology and economic inequalities on international trade inequalities. The theoretical framework where we built our empirical analysis is the technological gap aproach. We considered eight European countries and 13 manufacture industries in the time period 1995-2002. We made a panel data model with a cross-sectional unit of analysis: the Euclidean distance among countries in each industry. We considered the Euclidian distance as a proxy of inequality among countries in each industry. We observed that technology and economic inequalities affect trade inequality and that the effect depends on the technological contend of each industry

De los modelos de innovación a los regímenes tecnológicos Schumpeterianos

Se analizan los regímenes tecnológicos de cuatro países europeos: España, Italia, Francia y Reino Unido, utilizando los datos de patentes en los EE.UU. para veintisiete clases tecnológicas en el período 1974-1995. El fundamento teórico sobre el cual se basa el análisis empírico es el referido a los modelos de actividad innovadora perfilados por Schumpeter y recogidos tanto desde una perspectiva teórica como a través de diversos estudios empíricos por diversos autores - Nelson y Winter (1982), Winter (1984), Malerba y Orsenigo (1995 y 1996)-. En cuanto a la metodología, se analizaran aspectos relativos a las características de acumulación tecnológica, apropiación de los resultados de la innovación, oportunidad tecnológica y las bases de conocimiento de que se nutren las empresas, utilizando indicadores acerca de la concentración y asimetría de las actividades innovadoras, tamaño innovador y estabilidad y natalidad de innovadores. ABSTRACT The main objetive of this paper is to analyse the Technological Regimes of four European Countries: Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, using data about patents registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in twenty seven technological fields, during the period 1974-1995. The theoretical bases are the patterns of technological activity outlined by Schumpeter and picked up since theoretical and empirical perspectives by many authors - Nelson y Winter (1982), Winter (1984), Malerba y Orsenigo (1995 y 1996)-. Many questions about the characteristics of technological cumulativeness, appropriability, technological opportunity and the bases of knowledge, are analysed using different indicators about concentration, asymmetry, innovator size and innovative stability and natality

One or two poles of attraction in the international technological cooperation process?

In recent years, international cooperation processes have become a key mechanism for companies to internationalise their innovative activities, par ticularly in the case of small businesses whose size reduces their possibilities of developing internationalisation strategies autonomously in the same way as larger companies. In Spain, the existence of two parallel programmes with similar structures oriented towards Europe (EUREKA) and Latin America (IBEROEKA) raises the question as to whether the fact that companies participate in only one (unipolar) or both (bipolar) of these programmes is the result of a selection process, which, in turn, results in the existence of different collectives with different efficiency parameters. The aim of this study is to provide a comparative analysis based on the final reports of Spanish companies that have participated in the EUREKA programme. Two groups of companies were compared: one comprising companies that have only had international experience in Europe (EUREKA); and another formed by companies that have also carried out IBEROEKA projects. The conclusions confirm that the behaviour of both groups of companies differs substantially and reveal the importance of geographical perspective in the analysis of international cooperation in technology. This disparate behaviour is a relevant aspect that must be taken into account when designing policies to promote international technological cooperation

Integración de Conocimiento y creación de valor en la empresa

En el contexto actual de creciente incertidumbre y complejidad, las empresas deben aprender de los cambios, deben ser capaces de interiorizar los nuevos conocimientos procedentes del exterior, integrarlos con sus propios conocimientos e incorporarlos con éxito en su propia cadena de valor. La capacidad para absorber los conocimientos procedentes de muy diversas fuentes es pues un elemento clave para la competitividad de las empresas. Este trabajo quiere contribuir a la conceptualización y medición de la capacidad de integración del conocimiento a partir de la revisión de la literatura teórica y empírica relativa a este concepto, teniendo muy presente los diferentes factores y dimensiones que lo componen

Análisis comparativo de la participación de las empresas en programas nacionales e internacionales de apoyo a la innovación

Innovation is a process that faces several market failure situations. For this reason and for being considered one of the main drivers of economic growth, a large number of governmental and supranational policies are designed to foster technological progress. Along with these policies, there is an increasing concern with their continuous evaluation aiming at providing valuable feedback for these program’s adaptation and adequacy to the firm’s needs. The paper develops an evaluation of the influence of innovation-focused programs in firm´s innovation and economic performance by means of a comparative analysis of the results obtained by Spanish firms that have participated in R&D national programmes and those achieved by Spanish firms participating in EUREKA international program. Findings show that the programmes were effective in achieving their objective of promoting technological innovation but, as regards the economic effects, the results were less conclusive since some differences were observed depending on the programme. The EUREKA companies displayed better behaviour, with positive differences in their returns on assets and labour productivity. The results also confirm the importance of designing more detailed and rigorous evaluation processes, taking into account the risk variable, in order to draw a more realistic picture of the impact of national and international programmes.El objetivo de este artículo es contribuir al conocimiento del impacto que tiene en las empresas su participación en programas públicos de apoyo a la innovación tecnológica, introduciendo como importante novedad el análisis comparado de los resultados obtenidos por las empresas españolas que han participado en programas de I+D de ámbito nacional (proyectos empresariales de I+D gestionados por el CDTI) frente a las que lo han hecho en programas internacionales (programa EUREKA). Los resultados muestran que ambos programas son eficaces en el logro de su objetivo de promover la innovación tecnológica, pero, en cuanto a sus efectos económicos, los resultados son menos concluyentes.Depto. de Economía Aplicada, Estructura e HistoriaFac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesTRUEpu

Comportamiento tecnológico y pautas de internacionalización : un análisis comparado de las economías europeas

A pesar de que numerosos estudios teóricos sobre internacionalización y tecnología plantean algún tipo de conexión entre ambos procesos para empresas o países, pocos estudios empíricos analizan estas posibles asociaciones. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es el análisis de la relación existente entre las capacidades tecnológicas de las economías europeas y su proyección internacional, a partir de sus estructuras sectoriales, en la búsqueda de patrones de conducta diferenciados. A partir de un análisis cluster entre las correlaciones lineales y por rangos de indicadores porcentuales y de especialización relativa de las variables tecnológicas y de internacionalización, se han observado tres patrones de conducta claramente diferenciados: un modelo integrado, caracterizado por las significativas asociaciones entre ambos procesos; un modelo desintegrado, determinado por la falta de asociaciones y un modelo inestable, con un considerable número de asociaciones de carácter negativo. Estas conductas diferenciadas deberían hacernos reflexionar sobre la necesidad de políticas no homogéneas a nivel europeo. The main objective of this work is to analyse the relationship between the technological capability of European Economies and their international projection, trying to find different patterns of associations between both processes. Abstract: It was made a cluster analysis using lineal and rank correlations between both, sectoral percentages and specialisation indexes of technological and international variables. The results show three different patterns: An Integrated Model, where the positive correlations are very significative, a Disintegrated Model, with very few significative correlations, and an "Unstable" Model where there is a considerable number of negative associations. These results show great differences between these countries, and consequently the necessity of a non homogeneous policy in Europe