Trade in Ideas: Patenting and Productivity in the OECD

39 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2000 Last revised: 26 Oct 2022

See all articles by Jonathan Eaton

Jonathan Eaton

Leonard N. Stern School of Business - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Samuel S. Kortum

University of Chicago - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Date Written: March 1995

Abstract

We develop and estimate a model of technological innovation and its contribution to growth at home and abroad. International patents indicate where innovations come from and where they are used. Countries grow at a common steady-state rate. A country's relative productivity depends upon its capacity to absorb technology. We estimate that, except for the United States, OECD countries derive almost all of their productivity growth from abroad.

Suggested Citation

Eaton, Jonathan and Kortum, Samuel S., Trade in Ideas: Patenting and Productivity in the OECD (March 1995). NBER Working Paper No. w5049, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=225828

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Samuel S. Kortum

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