Discussion paper

DP17385 Global Innovation and Knowledge Diffusion

We develop a Ricardian model of trade in which countries innovate ideas that diffuse globally. The forces of innovation and diffusion combine to shape expenditure substitution patterns. Innovation makes a country technologically distinct, reducing their substitutability with other countries, while diffusion generates technological similarity and increases head-to-head competition. In the special case of an innovation-only model where countries do not share ideas, productivities are independent across space, and expenditure is CES. Consequently, departures from CES expenditure reveal diffusion patterns. Our theoretical results provide a mapping between the dynamics of observable expenditure and the dynamics of innovation and knowledge diffusion.

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Citation

Ramondo, N and N Lind (2022), ‘DP17385 Global Innovation and Knowledge Diffusion‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 17385. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp17385