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on Innovation |
| By: | Laura Barbieri (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali, Università Cattolica); Mariacristina Piva (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali, Università Cattolica); Marco Vivarelli (Istituto di Politica Economica, Università Cattolica) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the employment impact of innovation activity, taking into account both R&D expenditures and embodied technological change (ETC). We use a novel panel dataset covering 265 innovative Italian firms over the period 1998-2010. The main outcome from the proposed fixed effect estimations is a labor-friendly nature of total innovation expenditures; however, this positive effect is barely significant when the sole in-house R&D expenditures are considered and fades away when ETC is included as a proxy for innovation activities. Moreover, the positive employment impacts of innovation activities and R&D expenditures are totally due to firms operating in high-tech industries and large companies, while no job-creation due to technical change is detectable in traditional sectors and SMEs. |
| Keywords: | Technology, innovation, R&D, embodied technological change, employment |
| JEL: | O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie2:dises1620&r=ino |
| By: | Elert, Niklas (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Henrekson, Magnus (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Stenkula, Mikael (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | It is imperative that the economies of the European Union become more entrepreneurial to promote innovation and economic growth. To achieve these goals, we propose a reform strategy with respect to (i) the rule of law and the protection of property rights; (ii) the tax system; (iii) regulations governing savings, capital and finance; (iv) the organization of labor markets and social insurance systems; (v) regulations governing goods and service markets; (vi) regulations governing bankruptcy and insolvency; (vii) R&D, commercialization and knowledge spillovers; (viii) human capital investments; and (ix) informal institutions. Overall, the proposed institutional changes move in a liberalizing direction; however, one-size-fits-all policy reforms aimed at freer markets will not necessarily be successful. Instead, a successful reform strategy must consider country differences that affect the viability of reform without abandoning the long-term goal of institutional liberalization to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and growth |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; European Union; Innovation; Institutions; Policy reform; Regulation; Self-employment |
| JEL: | L26 L50 M13 O31 P14 |
| Date: | 2017–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1150&r=ino |
| By: | Isabel Busom (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona); Jorge-Andrés Vélez-Ospina (Departament d'Empresa, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the association between perceived barriers to innovation and the allocation of public support for innovation in manufacturing and service industries in Colombia, as well as the potential heterogeneity of returns to innovation across the firm-level productivity distribution. We extend the CDM recursive system by including an equation for the allocation of direct support and using quantile regression methods to estimate the productivity equation. We find some differences across manufacturing and service industries. Financing constraints are correlated with obtaining public support in manufacturing and in some services, but in knowledge intensive services (KIS) barriers associated with regulations are more significant. The introduction of innovations increases mostly the productivity of firms below the median of the productivity distribution, especially in services. Increasing human capital would boost productivity of firms in all industries, providing support to the hypothesis that human capital is indeed a bottleneck for productivity growth across the board in Colombia. We conclude that addressing factors that hinder innovation by low productivity firms in all service industries could significantly contribute to increasing productivity and reduce its dispersion. |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 O40 L8 C30 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea1701&r=ino |
| By: | Gerard Llobet (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros); Jorge Padilla (Compass Lexecon) |
| Abstract: | It has been commonly argued that the decision of a large number of inventors to license complementary patents necessary for the development of a product leads to excessively large royalties. This well-known Cournot-complements or royaltystacking effect would hurt efficiency and downstream competition. In this paper we show that when we consider patent litigation and introduce heterogeneity in the portfolio of different firms these results change substantially due to what we denote the Inverse Cournot e ect. We show that the lower the total royalty that a downstream producer pays, the lower the royalty that patent holders restricted by the threat of litigation of downstream producers will charge. This effect generates a moderation force in the royalty that unconstrained large patent holders will charge that may overturn some of the standard predictions in the literature. Interestingly, though, this effect can be less relevant when all patent portfolios are weak making royalty stacking more important. |
| Keywords: | Intellectual property, standard setting organizations, patent licensing, R&D investment, patent pools. |
| JEL: | L15 L24 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2016_1608&r=ino |
| By: | Colombelli, Alessandra; D'Ambrosio, Anna; Meliciani, Valentina; Francesco Quatraro, (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the determinants of the sectoral variety of newborn firms in different regional contexts. Based on the knowledge spillovers theory of entrepreneurship, we study the role of different dimension of knowledge variety, i.e. technological diversity and cultural diversity. This latter is measured with respect to the nationality of both foreign residents and foreign entrepreneurs. We use a unique dataset stemming from the combination of different sources of information. The results confirm that all the dimensions of knowledge variety are relevant in shaping the sectoral variety of newborn firms and point to the differential contribution of immigrant entrepreneurs in fostering the sectoral diversification in unrelated activities. |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201606&r=ino |
| By: | Gaétan de Rassenfosse; Adam B. Jaffe |
| Abstract: | This paper presents estimates of the R&D depreciation rate using survey data on Australian inventions. Its novelty is twofold. First, it relies on direct observation of the revenue streams of inventions. This is in sharp contrast with previous studies, which all rely on models based on indirect observation and require strong identifying assumptions. Second, it presents estimates of the effect of patent protection on the depreciation rate. Results suggest that the yearly depreciation rate varies in a range of 1 to 5 per cent, although the depreciation rate is stronger in the first two years of inventions averaging 8–9 per cent. Patent protection slows down the erosion of profits by about 1–2 percentage points. |
| JEL: | M41 O32 O33 O34 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23072&r=ino |
| By: | B. Zorina Khan |
| Abstract: | Economic studies typically underestimate incremental changes in consumer goods and design innovations that enhance allocative efficiency and structural dynamics. This paper assesses over 12,000 innovations by female patentees and participants in industrial fairs and prize-granting institutions in Britain, France and the United States, compared to parallel samples of some 60,000 patented and unpatented innovations by men. These data uniquely allow for the systematic assessment of women’s creativity within the nonmarket household sector and outside the patent system. The analysis distinguishes between improvements in consumer final goods, changes in designs, and other forms of technological creativity. The results indicate that women, especially nonpatentees, were significantly more likely than men to be associated with innovations in consumer final goods and design-oriented products at the boundary of art and technology. Even those who did not commercialize their products or work outside the home pursued such improvements to benefit their families. The patterns suggest that framing women’s creativity in terms of a “gender difference” rather than a “gender gap” might yield useful analytical insights. A general implication is that, by inaccurately gauging consumer innovations within the household and in the market, economic research likely underestimates the extent of technological progress and advances in welfare. |
| JEL: | B54 D12 L26 N40 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23086&r=ino |
| By: | KANI Masayo; MOTOHASHI Kazuyuki |
| Abstract: | This paper provides empirical analyses to understand the management of external technology sourcing using a novel dataset of new product development (NPD) projects in Japanese firms and focusing on the difference between bilateral and unilateral contract-based alliances. External technology sourcing takes various forms that can be divided into two categories: bilateral alliances, such as joint research and development (R&D), and unilateral alliances, such as licensing and commissioned R&D. The former style involves the dynamic process of joint R&D with a partner, whereas the latter involves the straightforward process of technology acquisition from a partner. In the first analysis in this paper, the determinants of the sourcing strategy for each contract type are investigated, and we find that bilateral contracts are more often used for exploratory projects, whereas in-house development is more often used for exploitation projects. Unilateral contracts are more relevant for projects mitigating contractual hazards. The second analysis looks into the relationship between the type of technology sourcing and its performance. We find that bilateral contract-based technology sourcing is more likely to lead to novel innovation than in-house development, but this difference in performance disappears when controlling for the type of NPD project and the firm's managerial resources. |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:16104&r=ino |
| By: | Rong, Zhao; Wu, Xiaokai; Boeing, Philipp |
| Abstract: | Monitoring by institutional investors can act as an important mechanism to promote firm innovation. By investigating Chinese listed firms' patenting between 2002 and 2011, we find that the presence of institutional investors enhances firm innovation. Consistent with the monitoring view, we further find that (1) the effect of institutional investors on firm patenting mainly comes from mutual funds; (2) the effect is more pronounced when market competition is more intense; (3) the effect exists among private- and minor state-owned enterprises, but not among major state-owned enterprises. The above findings are robust when innovation quality is examined. |
| Keywords: | Institutional investor,Firm innovation,Patenting,Mutual funds,China |
| JEL: | G20 G32 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:17005&r=ino |
| By: | FUJIKAWA Naoto; MOTOHASHI Kazuyuki |
| Abstract: | Firms' decisions regarding external research and development (R&D) sourcing are influenced by their absorptive capacities, as developed through their internal R&D activities. However, it remains to be determined how the effects of absorptive capacity on firms'external sourcing strategies vary among the R&D stages, namely, upstream "research" or downstream "development" in the entire R&D process. Based on a detailed pharmaceutical R&D data set, which allows us to separately identify "research" and "development" activities, we have empirically investigated how the R&D process stage affects the relationship between internal R&D and external technology sourcing. Additionally, we separate efforts from capabilities for the concept of "absorptive capacity" to observe more precisely the aforementioned relationship between internal capacity and external technology sourcing. A complementary internal-external relationship is found more frequently for vertical looks ("R" and "D") and for internal "efforts," while some substitutional relationships exist between the research's internal "capabilities" and external sourcing (horizontal looks). |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:16102&r=ino |
| By: | Heidi L. Williams |
| Abstract: | While patent systems have been widely used both historically and internationally, there is nonetheless a tremendous amount of controversy over whether patent systems – in practice – improve the alignment between private returns and social contributions. In this paper, I describe three parameters – how the disclosure function affects research investments, how patent strength affects research investments in new technologies, and how patents on existing technologies affect follow-on innovation – needed to inform the question of how patents affect research investments, and review the available evidence which has attempted to empirically estimate these parameters. |
| JEL: | H41 K0 O3 O34 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23088&r=ino |
| By: | Butorina, Olga (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Chelyabinsk branch) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates economic growth in Chelyabinsk region using innovation activity as the main criteria. Using the data published by the Federal State Statistics Service of Russian Federation we analyze dynamics of the innovation index and its sub-indices in Chelyabinsk region in the period from 2000 to 2012. We perform comprehensive comparison study of dynamics of innovation activity between Chelyabinsk region and other regions in the Ural Federal District employing variety of indicators and identifying leaders and outsiders. Based on analysis of dynamics of the innovation index, indicators of scientific and technological capacities as well as number of innovative companies and innovative products, we conclude that there is an urgent need for a comprehensive overhaul of innovation policies in Chelyabinsk Region. |
| Keywords: | innovation, innovation activity, index of innovation, statistical analysis, statistical report, regional economics |
| JEL: | O0 R0 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:ppaper:ch1603&r=ino |
| By: | Dawid, Herbert (Center for Mathematical Economics, Bielefeld University); Hellmann, Tim (Center for Mathematical Economics, Bielefeld University) |
| Abstract: | We study investments in R&D and the formation of R&D clusters of firms which are competitors in the market. In a three stage game, firms first decide on long-term R&D investment, then form research clusters according to the unanim- ity game introduced in Bloch(1995), and finally compete in quantities. For some range of investment costs, equilibria with no-investment co-exist with equilibria where a large fraction of firms invest in R&D. Because of the effects of R&D investment on cluster membership, firms tend to over-invest compared to a sce- nario where research clusters are ex-ante fixed and also compared to the welfare optimum. |
| Keywords: | R&D, cluster formation, oligopoly |
| Date: | 2016–03–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bie:wpaper:555&r=ino |
| By: | Llanto, Gilberto M.; del Prado, Fatima Lourdes E. |
| Abstract: | Aside from physical capital and human resource, private firms are also advised to invest in innovations to be more productive and profitable. However, it is important to ensure such investment is well-spent. This study found that product and process innovations do lead to increase in sales and profits, and improve labor productivity. It also showed that firm size, age, and foreign equity are important factors leading firms to innovate. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, innovation, small and medium enterprises, process innovation, firm performance, product innovation, SMEs |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:rpseri:rps_2016-02&r=ino |
| By: | Georg Graetz; Guy Michaels |
| Abstract: | Since the early 1990s, recoveries from recessions in the US have been plagued by weak employment growth. One possible explanation for these “jobless” recoveries is rooted in technological change: middle-skill jobs, often involving routine tasks, are lost during recessions, and the displaced workers take time to transition into other jobs (Jaimovich and Siu, 2014). But technological replacement of middle-skill workers is not unique to the US—it also takes place in other developed countries (Goos, Manning, and Salomons, 2014). So if jobless recoveries in the US are due to technology, we might expect to also see them elsewhere in the developed world. We test this possibility using data on recoveries from 71 recessions in 28 industries and 17 countries from 1970-2011. We find that though GDP recovered more slowly after recent recessions, employment did not. Industries that used more routine tasks, and those more exposed to robotization, did not recently experience slower employment recoveries. Finally, middle-skill employment did not recover more slowly after recent recessions, and this pattern was no different in routine-intensive industries. Taken together, this evidence suggests that technology is not causing jobless recoveries in developed countries outside the US. |
| Keywords: | job polarization; jobless recoveries; routine-biased technological change; robots |
| JEL: | E32 J23 O33 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:69043&r=ino |
| By: | Paul A. Gompers; Sophie Q. Wang |
| Abstract: | In this paper we document the patterns of labor market participation by women and ethnic minorities in venture capital firms and as founders of venture capital-backed startups. We show that from 1990-2016 women have been less than 10% of the entrepreneurial and venture capital labor pool, Hispanics have been around 2%, and African Americans have been less than 1%. This is despite the fact that all three groups have much higher representation in education programs that lead to careers in these sectors as well as having higher representation in other highly-compensated professions. Asians, on the other hand, have much higher representation in the venture capital and entrepreneurial sector than their overall percentages in the labor force. We explore potential supply side explanations including both education attainment as well as relevant prior job experience. We also explore the correlation between diversity and state-level variations. Finally, we discuss how these patterns are consistent with homophily-based hiring and homophily-induced information flows about career choices. We end the paper by discussing areas for future research. |
| JEL: | G2 G24 G3 J01 J11 J16 J24 J7 O15 O3 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23082&r=ino |
| By: | Adams, Kerr; Kovacs, Kent; West, Grant |
| Abstract: | Concerns about groundwater depletion from conventional agricultural irrigation in the Mississippi Delta have led to the technological innovation of more-efficient irrigation practices. With Arkansas being the largest producer of rice and the tenth largest producer of soybeans in the United States, the irrigation demand of these crops has put pressure on producers to find ways to irrigate more efficiently. Research into water conserving irrigation techniques has helped preserve water resources, maintain yields, and maximize farm profits. As groundwater levels in the Delta continue to decrease, the price of pumping water increases, making the prospect of investment in new technologies more attractive. The paper will address potential returns on investment in efficient irrigation practices for furrow irrigated soybeans and flood irrigated rice. The depletion of the aquifer and the return on investment from efficient irrigation practices depends on the well-pumping decision of farms across the landscape. More farms adopting the efficiency-enhancing practices will increase the return on investment in those practices because these methods stabilize groundwater levels across the landscape. We explore how the rate of adoption of efficient irrigation practices on the landscape ultimately influence the return on investment. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation, Groundwater conservation, Surface water delivery, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q15, Q24, Q25, |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252734&r=ino |
| By: | Juan Alcácer (Harvard Business School, Strategy Unit); Karin Beukel (University of Copenhagen); Bruno Cassiman (IESE Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents the strong growth in tools used by firms to protect their intellectual property (IP), develop their know-how, and build and maintain their reputation globally during the last decades. We focus on three tools: patents, trademarks, and industrial designs. We find that, although most IP applications come from a few countries (the United States, European Union, Japan, China, and South Korea), most growth in IP activity has come from middle-income countries, especially in Asia. We observe important differences in the origins of this growth. For example, while in India most applicants were foreign firms, in China most were local. However, most Indian innovations are also applied overseas, while Chinese innovations rarely made it out of China. Interestingly, growth in applications varies by IP tool, with industrial designs experiencing the most growth. |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:17-068&r=ino |
| By: | Thomadakis, Apostolos |
| Abstract: | Venture capital can be a lifeline to innovative and growth-oriented start-ups and small businesses in need of external capital. In this ECMI Research Report, the author argues that the recently proposed changes to the Regulation on European Venture Capital Funds (EuVECA) fail to address three important issues that could further boost financing: the extension of the EuVECA Regulation to third-country managers, the reduction of the €100,000 entry ticket, without further compromises on investor protection, and the harmonisation of rules on managing requirements. He proposes a number of measures that could facilitate access to financing for start-ups and SMEs. |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:ecmiwp:12022&r=ino |
| By: | Kroll, Henning |
| Abstract: | [Introduction] Inherent in its conception, the smart specialisation approach carries an intrinsic tension between its alleged place-based nature at the meso-level of regions and the fact that it was derived from theoretical premises that derive from the analysis of competition between nations (Foray et al. 2009; 2011). Implicitly, therefore, it presupposes a certain degree of completeness and variety in economic and innovation systems as is commonly assumed in international comparative analysis between nations – debatable as this suggestion may in itself be. Obviously, the actual innovation systems of European regions are often much more fragmented (Capello and Kroll 2016; Isaksen 2014; Kroll 2015; Technopolis et al. 2012; Tödtling and Trippl 2005). At the same time, it borrows concept of exploration and discovery from the analysis of the world of business (Hausman and Rodrik 2003) which cannot easily be transferred to the world of governance, leave alone government. While, possibly, it can most easily be read as promoting the public triggering of such processes where their absence constitutes an obstacle to economic development and their better guidance in others (Landabaso 2012; 2014), this ambition is neither an easy task in practice nor theoretically very well understood to start with. Overall, there has been limited differentiation between processes that are merely discursive and those that amount to actual co-creation and joint discovery. [...] |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisifr:r12017&r=ino |
| By: | Saul Estrin; Tomasz Mickiewicz; Anna Rebmann |
| Abstract: | We apply prospect theory to explain how personal and corporate bankruptcy laws affect risk perceptions of entrepreneurs at time of entry and therefore their growth ambitions. Previous theories have reached ambiguous conclusions as to whether countries with more debtor-friendly bankruptcy laws (i.e. laws that are more forgiving towards debtors in bankruptcy proceedings) are likely to have more entrepreneurs, or whether, creditor-friendly regimes have positive effects on new ventures via enhanced incentives for the supply of credit to entrepreneurs. Responding to this ambiguity, we apply prospect theory to propose that entrepreneurs do not attach the same significance to different elements of bankruptcy codes—and to explain which aspects of debtor-friendly bankruptcy laws matter more to entrepreneurs. Based on this, we derive and confirm hypotheses about the impact of aspects of bankruptcy codes on entrepreneurial activity using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor combined with data on both personal and corporate bankruptcy regulations for 15 developed OECD countries. We use multilevel random coefficient logistic regressions to take account of the hierarchical nature of the data (country and individual levels). Because entrepreneurs and creditors are sensitive to different elements of the codes, there is scope for optimisation of the legal design of bankruptcy law to achieve both an adequate supply of credit and to encourage high-ambition entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship;High-aspiration entrepreneurship; Bankruptcy; Global entrepreneurship monitor |
| JEL: | K22 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:68997&r=ino |
| By: | Miller, Noah J.; Griffin, Terry; Bergtold, Jason; Sharda, Ajay; Ciampitti, Ignacio |
| Abstract: | The Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) is an organization affiliated with Kansas State University that maintains a database of annual production and financial data on Kansas farms stretching back to 1973. The KFMA surveyed farms, beginning in fall of 2015, on the adoption, utilization, and abandonment of ten precision agriculture technologies. The technologies examined in the survey included yield monitor (with and without GPS), lightbar guidance, automated guidance system, automated section control, variable rate application (fertilizer and seed), and precision soil sampling. Given the advancements in precision agriculture technology it is important to identify how older, obsolete technologies have been abandoned and/or replaced by newer ones. This study uses a sample of 348 farm-level observations to identify patterns of adoption, upgrading, and abandonment of precision agriculture technology on Kansas farms. This study identifies a farm’s conditional probability of adopting technology given previous adoption of other technologies. Additionally, sequential probabilities were estimated to provide insight on the order, or sequence, of adoption. |
| Keywords: | Adoption, Transition Probabilities, Markov Process, Precision Agriculture, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252832&r=ino |
| By: | Blien, Uwe (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Ludewig, Oliver (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | In recent times the employment effects of technical progress raised much intention. Will recent productivity gains lead to technological unemployment or to a new prosperity? In our paper it is shown formally that under general and standard preconditions the price elasticity of demand on product markets is decisive: Technological progress leads to an expansion of employment if product demand is elastic. It is accompanied, however, by shrinkage of employment if product demand is inelastic. A transition from the elastic into the inelastic range of the demand function for the most important product(s) can already suffice to plunge a region into crisis. In our empirical analysis we use industry level time series data on output, prices, employment and national income for Germany provided by the Federal Statistical Office. We estimate Marshallian type demand functions using an instrumental variables estimator to derive the price elasticities for different industries and link this information to the regional labour market performance of the respective industries and regions. |
| Keywords: | labour market dynamics, productivity growth, structural change |
| JEL: | Q33 R11 J23 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10472&r=ino |
| By: | Fisher, Monica (University of Idaho); Holden , Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Katengeza, Samson P. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the adoption potential of conservation agriculture (CA) technologies in Malawi, where CA appears highly appropriate. Estimation of CA adoption rates and their determinants is complicated by the relatively recent introduction of these technologies and limited awareness of CA among the general population of smallholder farmers. We propose a lead farmer promoter-adopter approach and use it to assess the adoption potential of CA among smallholder farmers in Malawi. This approach relies on the promoters being potential adopters themselves, having had sufficient exposure and access to the technologies, and their incentives not having been distorted by excessive incentives. These conditions are reasonably satisfied in our application with a sample of 181 lead farmers from central and southern Malawi. We find adoption rates for the lead farmers of 56% for organic manure and crop rotation, 26% for minimum tillage, 30% for mulching, and 12% for herbicide application. Lead farmers recommend CA to their followers at rates of 66% for organic manure, about 50% for crop rotation and minimum tillage, 28% for mulching, and less than 10% for herbicide application. Assuming the validity of the promoter-adopter approach, these findings together suggest that, in central and southern Malawi, organic manure and crop rotation have the highest adoption potential, mulching and minimum tillage come next, and herbicide application has the lowest potential. With the farmer-to-farmer extension approach gaining popularity in many countries, we expect that our promoter-adopter approach to assessing adoption potential of new technologies will be of broad interest. |
| Keywords: | Africa; conservation agriculture; farmer-to-farmer extension; Malawi; promoter-adopter approach; technology adoption |
| JEL: | O33 Q16 |
| Date: | 2017–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2017_001&r=ino |
| By: | Elham Erfanian (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University); Amir B. Ferreira Neto (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | Scientific research contributes to sustainable economic growth environments. Hence, policy-makers should understand how the different inputs – namely labor and capital – are related to a country’s scientific output. This paper addresses this issue by estimating output elasticities for labor and capital using a panel of 31 countries in nine years. Due to the nature of scientific output, we also use spatial econometric models to take into account the spillover effects from knowledge produced as well as labor and capital. The results show that capital elasticity is closer to the labor elasticity. The results suggest a decreasing return to scale production of scientific output. The spatial model points to negative spillovers from capital expenditure and no spillovers from labor or the scientific output. |
| Keywords: | Scientific output, capital, labor, spillover effects |
| JEL: | O32 F01 O15 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rri:wpaper:2016wp05&r=ino |
| By: | Bertschek, Irene; Ohnemus, Jörg; Viete, Steffen |
| Abstract: | Modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been proliferating through the entire business sector over recent decades. This increasing digitalization is having a substantial impact on economic activity and is continuously changing the nature of production processes and our day-to-day working life. Since 2002, the ICT Survey carried out by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) has tracked the diffusion and use of ICT in different industries within the German economy. Further surveys were conducted at irregular intervals in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2015. The survey was designed by ZEW's Research Department Information and Communication Technologies. The data was collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) by infas Institute for Applied Social Sciences. The central aim of the survey is twofold: Firstly, a representative picture of the use of ICT by German firms is obtained. Secondly, taking account of a large set of further firm characteristics it should allow an analysis of the consequences of employing ICT and ICT-related projects with respect to different measures of firm performance. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdok:1701&r=ino |