From R&D to Productivity Growth: Do the Institutional Settings and the Source of Funds of R&D Matter?
| Author | Dominique Guellec,Bruno Van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0084.2004.00083.x |
| Published date | 01 July 2004 |
| Date | 01 July 2004 |
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From R&D to Productivity Growth:
Do the Institutional Settings and the Source
of Funds of R&D Matter?
Dominique Guellec* and Bruno Van Pottelsberghe
de la Potterie
*European Patent Office, Munich, Germany (e-mail: dguellec@epo.org)
Universite´ Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Solvay Business School, Solvay Chair of
Innovation, Centre Emile Bernheim, DULBEA and CEPR, CP 145/01, 21 av. F.D.
Roosevelt, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium (e-mail: bruno.vanpottelsberghe@ulb.ac.be)
Abstract
This paper presents estimates of the long-term impact of various sources of
knowledge (R&D performed by the business sector, the public sector and
foreign firms) on multifactor productivity growth of 16 countries from 1980 to
1998. The main results show that the three sources of knowledge are
significant determinants of long-term productivity growth. Further evidence
suggests that several factors determine the extent to which each source of
knowledge contributes to productivity growth. These factors are the
absorptive capability, the origin of funding, the socioeconomic objectives of
government support, and the type of public institutions that perform R&D.
I. Introduction
Economic theory (Solow, 1957; Romer, 1990) points to technical change as
the major source of productivity growth in the long run. New processes allow
firms to increase output per worker or per unit of capital, and new products
contribute to improving the well-being of consumers. While other factors,
such as macroeconomic shocks, can affect productivity in the short to medium
term, only the extension of technology can make economic growth sustainable
JEL Classification numbers: O11, O40, O47, O50.
OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS, 66, 3 (2004) 0305-9049
353
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
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