Knowledge spillovers and total factor productivity.udEvidence using a spatial panel data model

摘要

This paper investigates the impact of knowledge capital stocks on totaludfactor productivity through the lens of the knowledge capital model proposed byudGriliches (1979), augmented with a spatially discounted cross-region knowledgeudspillover pool variable. The objective is to shift attention from firms andudindustries to regions and to estimate the impact of cross-region knowledgeudspillovers on total factor productivity (TFP) in Europe. The dependent variable isudthe region-level TFP, measured in terms of the superlative TFP index suggestedudby Caves, Christensen and Diewert (1982). This index describes how efficientlyudeach region transforms physical capital and labour into output. The explanatoryudvariables are internal and out-of-region stocks of knowledge, the latter capturingudthe contribution of cross-region knowledge spillovers. We construct patent stocksudto proxy regional knowledge capital stocks for N=203 regions over the 1997-ud2002 time period. In estimating the effects we implement a spatial panel dataudmodel that controls for the spatial autocorrelation due to neighbouring regionsudand the individual heterogeneity across regions. The findings provide a fairlyudremarkable confirmation of the role of knowledge capital contributing toudproductivity differences among regions, and add an important spatial dimensionudto the discussion, by showing that productivity effects of knowledge spilloversudincrease with geographic proximity. (authors' abstract)