Diversification, Innovation, and Imitation Inside the Global Technological Frontier

24 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Bailey Klinger

Bailey Klinger

Center for International Development

Daniel Lederman

World Bank - Latin America and Caribbean Region

Date Written: April 1, 2006

Abstract

Recent research highlights the relationship between economic development and productive diversification, which may be hindered by market failures. After identifying stages of diversification in disaggregated export data, the authors develop a metric for the flows of export discoveries,or inside-the-frontier innovations in developing countries. They then explore the empirical relationship between economic development and (1) inside-the-frontier innovation as reflected by the introduction of new export products, (2) export diversification measured by an index of export-revenue concentration, and (3) on-the-frontier innovation as reflected in patents. The data suggest, unsurprisingly, that inside-the-frontier innovation is more common among poor countries than among industrial economies. Overall export diversification increases at low levels of development but declines with development after a high-income point, whereas patenting activity rises exponentially with development. The data also suggest that the relationship between the frequency of export discoveries and economic development is not due to changes in the industrial composition of exports. The authors use a simple model of innovation and imitation to test the hypothesis that the threat of imitation inhibits the discovery of new exports. Econometric evidence suggests that the frequency of export discoveries across countries rises with the returns of export activities (proxied by exogenous export growth during the sample period), but the magnitude of this effect increases with barriers to entry. The count-data estimations deal with unobserved international heterogeneity, and the results are robust to various changes in the specification of the empirical model. This finding supports the hypothesis that market failures inhibit inside-the-frontier innovation.

Keywords: Economic Theory & Research, Markets and Market Access, Water Resources Assessment, Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality, Airports and Air Services

Suggested Citation

Klinger, Bailey and Lederman, Daniel, Diversification, Innovation, and Imitation Inside the Global Technological Frontier (April 1, 2006). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3872, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=923225

Bailey Klinger (Contact Author)

Center for International Development ( email )

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Daniel Lederman

World Bank - Latin America and Caribbean Region ( email )

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