Interindustry Technology Flows and Productivity Growth: A Reexamination

Abstract

The relationship between productivity growth and R & D intensity is reexamined using detailed data for 193 U.S. manufacturing industries and a breakdown of R & D into own product and process improvement oriented components and "imported" R & D from other industries. A significant interindustry relationship between total factor productivity growth and R & D intensity is reconfirmed, with "used" R & D having larger coefficients than own product R & D components. But "own" product R & D is also significant and the explanatory power of the "used" R & D variable derives largely from the own-process R & D component rather than the embodied component imported from other industries. Thus, the evidence for R & D spillovers remains tenuous.