Engineers, Innovative Capacity and Development in the Americas

67 Pages Posted: 18 Jun 2014

See all articles by William F. Maloney

William F. Maloney

World Bank - Poverty and Economic Management Unit; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

Felipe Valencia Caicedo

Vancouver School of Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 6, 2014

Abstract

Using newly collected national and sub-national data and historical case studies, this paper argues that differences in innovative capacity, captured by the density of engineers at the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution, are important to explaining present in come differences, and, in particular, the poor performance of Latin America relative to North America. This remains the case after controlling for literacy, other higher order human capital, such as lawyers, as well as demand side elements that might be confounded with engineering. The analysis then finds that agglomeration, certain geographical fundamentals, and extractive institutions such as slavery affect innovative capacity. However, a large effect associated with being a Spanish colony remains suggesting important inherited factors.

Keywords: Innovative Capacity, Engineers, Technology Diffusion, Human Capital, Growth, Development, History.

JEL Classification: O1, O31, O33, O4, N1

Suggested Citation

Maloney, William F. and Valencia Caicedo, Felipe, Engineers, Innovative Capacity and Development in the Americas (June 6, 2014). Documento CEDE No. 2014-24, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2451275 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2451275

William F. Maloney (Contact Author)

World Bank - Poverty and Economic Management Unit ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

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Felipe Valencia Caicedo

Vancouver School of Economics ( email )

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Canada

HOME PAGE: http://https://economics.ubc.ca/faculty-and-staff/felipe-valencia-caicedo/

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