Industry-Specific Knowledge Spurs Productivity: An Application of Panel Cointegration

Using data for 14 OECD countries and 13 sectors for the period 1985-2004, this paper analyzes the significance of the linkage between channels of international knowledge spillovers and total factor productivity. We distinguish between domestic and international intra- and inter-sectoral spillover sources. Patent applications are exploited to estimate the contribution of technology transfer to industrial productivity. To account for technological distance, we weight foreign knowledge by bilateral technological proximity. By adopting estimation methods reflecting recent developments in the treatment of non-stationary panel data econometrics, we find that industry-specific knowledge both nationally and internationally mainly drives productivity in the respective sector.Knowledge Spillover, Total Factor Productivity, Manufacturing, Panel Cointegration

The Good Governance Indicators of the Millennium Challenge Account: How many dimensions are really being measured

This paper assesses the validity of the perception-based governance indicators used by the US Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) for aid allocation decisions. By conducting Explanatory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of data from 1996 to 2009, we find that although the MCA purports to measure seven distinct dimensions of governance, only two discrete underlying dimensions, the 'participatory dimension of governance' and the 'overall quality of governance' can be identified. Our results also show that some of the doubts that have been raised concerning the validity of perception-based governance indicators are less warranted when the indicators are applied exclusively to developing countries. --Aid Allocation,Governance Indicators,Factor Analysis,MCA

Technology Portfolio and Market Value

This paper discusses the impact of a firm's technology portfolio on its market value. Two concepts are used to characterize a firm's portfolio: the number of technological fields and the degree of relatedness within the portfolio characterized by the amount of joint occurrences of patents in technological fields. Based on a theoretical framework using an expanded Tobin's q approach, it presents evidence for a negative influence of portfolio size on the market value caused by a diminishing potential to make use of economies of scale. This discount can be counterbalanced when the relevant fields share a common technological base which is measured by the degree of technological relatedness.technological portfolio, relatedness, patent statistics, tobin's q, economies of scope

The Good Governance Indicators of the Millennium Challenge Account: How Many Dimensions Are Really Being Measured?

This paper assesses the validity of the perception-based governance indicators used by the US Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) for aid allocation decisions. By conducting Explanatory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of data from 1996 to 2009, we find that although the MCA purports to measure seven distinct dimensions of governance, only two discrete underlying dimensions, the perceived 'participatory dimension of governance' and the perceived 'overall quality of governance,' can be identified. Our results also show that some of the doubts that have been raised concerning the validity of perception-based governance indicators are less warranted when the indicators are applied exclusively to developing countries.Aid allocation, governance indicators, factor analysis, MCA, United States

Industry-specific knowledge spurs productivity: An application of panel cointegration

Using data for 14 OECD countries and 13 sectors for the period 1985-2004, this paper analyzes the significance of the linkage between channels of international knowledge spillovers and total factor productivity. We distinguish between domestic and international intra- and inter-sectoral spillover sources. Patent applications are exploited to estimate the contribution of technology transfer to industrial productivity. To account for technological distance, we weight foreign knowledge by bilateral technological proximity. By adopting estimation methods reflecting recent developments in the treatment of non-stationary panel data econometrics, we find that industry-specific knowledge both nationally and internationally mainly drives productivity in the respective sector

Research Efficiency in Manufacturing: An Application of DEA at the Industry Level

This paper analyzes research efficiency at the industry level in manufacturing for 13 European member and four nonmember countries during 2000 and 2004. A unique dataset was compiled that matches patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) to industry-specific R&D inputs from EU KLEMS. We find that Germany, the United States, and Denmark have the highest efficiency scores on average in total manufacturing. The main industries that are at the technology frontier are those involved in electrical and optical equipment and machinery. Separate frontier estimations for these industries, conducted without the constraint of a constant technology frontier, provide additional support for our results.R&D efficiency, industry level, data envelopment analysis, manufacturing

The Good Governance Indicators of the Millennium Challenge Account: How many dimensions are really being measured

This paper assesses the validity of the perception-based governance indicators used by the US Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) for aid allocation decisions. By conducting Explanatory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of data from 1996 to 2009, we find that although the MCA purports to measure seven distinct dimensions of governance, only two discrete underlying dimensions, the 'participatory dimension of governance' and the 'overall quality of governance' can be identified. Our results also show that some of the doubts that have been raised concerning the validity of perception-based governance indicators are less warranted when the indicators are applied exclusively to developing countries

Technology portfolio and market value

This paper discusses the impact of a firm's technology portfolio on its market value. Two concepts are used to characterize a firm's portfolio: the number of technological fields and the degree of relatedness within the portfolio characterized by the amount of joint occurrences of patents in technological fields. Based on a theoretical framework using an expanded Tobin's q approach, it presents evidence for a negative influence of portfolio size on the market value caused by a diminishing potential to make use of economies of scale. This discount can be counterbalanced when the relevant fields share a common technological base which is measured by the degree of technological relatedness

how many dimensions are really being measured

This paper assesses the validity of the perception-based governance indicators used by the US Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) for aid allocation decisions. By conducting Explanatory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of data from 1996 to 2009, we find that although the MCA purports to measure seven distinct dimensions of governance, only two discrete underlying dimensions, the ‘participatory dimension of governance’ and the ‘overall quality of governance,’ can be identified. Our results also show that some of the doubts that have been raised concerning the validity of perception-based governance indicators are less warranted when the indicators are applied exclusively to developing countries

Technological and Regional Patterns in R&D Internationalization by German Companies

An analysis of patent applications filed with the European Patent Office reveals that German companies primarily expand their research activities abroad in high-tech sectors in which they already conduct long-term intensive research. These sectors are: electrical engineering, control technology, engines, pumps, turbines, thermal processes, mechanical components, and transport. German R&D internationalization is thus founded on fields of research that are highly productive domestically. By contrast, there is cause for concern for Germany as a location for research in the fields of telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. In these areas German companies have been intensifying their research activities abroad due to relative weakness at home. A particularly controversial topic in the political arena concerns the global competitiveness of Germany as a location for research. Empirical investigation of German research and its main competitors yields surprising results: Germany's competitors are almost exclusively Western European countries, particularly Austria, Switzerland, and France - all German neighbors. While the US continues to play a central role as a location for research funded by German companies, its importance has declined drastically since 1990.Innovation system, Composite indicator, Industrialized countries