Innovation vs. imitation and the evolution of productivity distributions

Artikel

We develop a tractable dynamic model of productivity growth and technology spillovers that is consistent with the emergence of real world empirical productivity distributions. Firms can improve productivity by engaging in in-house R\&D, or alternatively, by trying to imitate other firms' technologies, subject to the limits of their absorptive capacities. The outcome of both strategies is stochastic. The choice between in-house R\&D and imitation is endogenous, and based on firms' profit maximization motive. Firms closer to the technological frontier face fewer imitation opportunities, and choose in-house R\&D, while firms farther from the frontier try to imitate more productive technologies. The equilibrium choice leads to a balanced-growth equilibrium featuring persistent productivity differences even when starting from ex-ante identical firms. The long-run productivity distribution can be described as a traveling wave with tails following a Pareto as can be observed in the empirical data.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Journal: Theoretical Economics ; ISSN: 1555-7561 ; Volume: 11 ; Year: 2016 ; Issue: 3 ; Pages: 1053-1102 ; New Haven, CT: The Econometric Society

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General ; General Aggregative Models: General
• Thema: Imitation ; innovation ; growth ; quality ladder ; absorptive capacity ; productivity differences ; spillovers

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Zilibotti, Fabrizio ; König, Michael ; Lorenz, Jan
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): The Econometric Society
• (wo): New Haven, CT
• (wann): 2016

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: doi:10.3982/TE1437
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/150301
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 10.03.2025, 11:42 MEZ