Factors behind cross-industry differences in technical progress

Richard R. Nelson, Edward N. Wolff

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    This paper argues that while both technological opportunity and appropriability positively affect industry R and D intensity, technological opportunity positively affects the rate of technical advance in an industry, but appropriability does not. The empirical tests presented, which use data drawn for the Yale Questionnaire on Industrial Research and Development to provide measures of these variables, are consistent with these hypotheses. The finding that both variables influence R and D intensity is consistent with earlier studies. The dependence of technological advance on opportunities alone is, we believe, a new analytic argument, and the empirical support of that argument is new.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)205-220
    Number of pages16
    JournalStructural Change and Economic Dynamics
    Volume8
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jun 1997

    Keywords

    • Research and development
    • Technological change

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Economics and Econometrics

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