"The Role of International Technological Spillovers in the Economic Growth of the OECD Countries "

Abstract

This paper explores the role of imports as a mechanism of transmission of international technological spillovers and the significance of these for the growth and economic convergence of the OECD countries. For this purpose a growth model is estimated that includes amongst its determinants a measure of the stock of technological knowledge. The results reveal first that international technological spillovers transmitted through imports have had a favourable influence on the economic growth of the OECD countries, Secondly, they suggest that the capacity of countries to take advantage of those spillovers depend on their own human and R&D capital endowments..