R&D and Technology Spillovers Via FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity

Abstract

Two faces of R&D (innovation and learning) and technology spillovers from FDI (foreign direct investment) on a Þrm's productivity growth are examined in this paper. Using Þrm-level panel data on Czech manufacturing Þrms between 1995 and 1998, I Þnd that: (i) the learning effect of R&D is far more important than the innovative effect in explaining the productivity growth of a Þrm, (ii) there is no evidence of technology spillovers to local Þrms from having a foreign joint venture partner, (iii) positive spillovers from FDI are found in electrical machinery and radio&TV sectors, which are also active investors in innovative R&D.

30 anos de investigação sobre externalidades do IDE para as empresas nacionais: que conclusões?

“…É, contudo, difícil, como salienta Kinoshita (2001), distinguir na prática os diferentes canais, dado que os mecanismos geradores de externalidades do IDE são complexos e interdependentes.…”

“…Por outro lado, tem sido defendida a existência de uma dimensão regional/local na ocorrência de externalidades, de tal forma que seriam as empresas nacionais geograficamente mais próximas das EM as que se beneficiariam de modo mais significativo. A análise empírica desenvolvida em relação a estes dois fatores confere um sólido suporte ao primeiro argumento (Kinoshita, 2001;Schoors e van der Tol, 2002;Kanturia, 2002;Keller e Yeaple, 2003;Girma, 2003;Karpaty e Lundberg, 2004), mas é mais ambígua no que se refere ao segundo fator (Sjöholm, 1999b;Aitken e Harrison,1999;Girma e Wakelin, 2000;Girma, 2003;Yudaeva et al, 2003;Torlak, 2004).…”

When Does FDI Have Positive Spillovers? Evidence from 17 Transition Market Economies

“…Finally, studies that proxy technology by the level of R&D consistently find positive horizontal spillovers in the R&D sector (see e.g. Kinoshita, 2000, using data from the Czech Republic). Sabirianova, Svejnar and Terrell (2005) use 1992-2000 firm-level data on the population of industrial firms in the Czech Republic and Russia and find that the productivity gap between domestic and foreign firms is increasing in industries with a greater foreign presence.…”

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on the Productivity of China’s Automotive Industry

“…In his study of intra-industry spillovers from FDI in Uruguayan manufacturing plants, Kokko et al (1996) found a positive and statistically significant spillover effect only in indigenous plants with moderate technology gaps relative to foreign firms, pointing to the existence of firm-specific differences in the ability to absorb spillovers from foreign firms. Cohen & Levinthal (1989) and Kinoshita (2000) suggested that the contradictory empirical findings might imply that the incidence of productivity spillovers requires the indigenous firms to possess the ability to absorb advanced technology from foreign firms.…”