Innovation and the competitiveness of industries: Comparing the mainstream and the evolutionary approaches

The study of the relationships between innovation and the competitiveness of industries is an important topic for both, academic research and economic policy. The huge economics literature flourished in the last couple of decades on the subject broadly falls into two distinct research traditions, namely the mainstream R&D spillovers approach and the evolutionary economics view. Both traditions agree on the important role played by innovation and the inter-sectoral diffusion of advanced knowledge for the competitive performance of industrial sectors. Behind this general agreement, however, the two approaches are radically different. This paper shows that, at a deeper level of analysis, the mainstream and evolutionary views do indeed differ with respect to their theoretical foundations, empirical research and policy implications. In a nutshell, while the mainstream R&D spillover approach is inspired by a traditional view of economic policy based on a market-oriented approach, the evolutionary view is on the contrary consistent with the idea that institutional arrangements and policy interventions do indeed play a fundamental role for shaping innovation patterns and their impacts on the competitiveness of industries.     

Innovation in services: a review of the debate and a research agenda

The paper reviews the debate on innovation in services which has flourished over the last 20 years and suggests a research agenda for the services innovation literature. We discuss whether, and the extent to which, the ill-definition and mis-measurement of service output have influenced the conceptualization and analysis of innovation in services. We propose a reclassification of the literature according to whether it has been mainly assimilated or differentiated with respect to the traditional conceptualization of innovation in the manufacturing sector. We also review the integrative (or synthesizing) contributions, and suggest a taxonomy for the modes of innovation in services, based on the Lancasterian characteristics-based approach to product definition. We conclude with a summary of the key arguments and a proposed agenda for the evolutionary theory to integrate the conceptualization of innovation in services.

Regional innovation and competitiveness in a dynamic representation

This paper combines the various strands of literature on knowledge and innovation as drivers of regional growth in an evolutionary model, representing the internal dynamics of a regional system focusing on Arthurian dynamic increasing returns to scale. The model shows how different evolutionary patterns can arise starting from identical local systems, and that the effects of policies are different depending on the state of the system. Simulation evolutionary economic geography models also allow to represent the complexity of spatial economic development without radically simplifying it and to formalize concepts which are otherwise only expressed—by economic geographers—as logical arguments.     

中国服务产业国际竞争力:多维视角的分析

随着服务产业在世界各国经济增长中作用的不断提高,国内学者对我国服务产业的国际竞争力也愈加关注.从目前所发表的研究结果看,结论似乎是一致的,即中国服务产业的国际竞争力相对低下,并且在逐渐下降,其中最主要的依据是中国服务贸易出口与发达国家差距巨大,服务贸易各项竞争指数为负值以及占有不足3%的世界服务贸易出口市场份额.     

How competitiveness may cause a gender wage gap: Experimental evidence

We show that choices in competitive behavior may entail a gender wage gap. In our experiments, employees first choose a remuneration scheme (competitive tournament vs. piece rate) and then conduct a real-effort task. Employers know the pie size the employee has generated, the remuneration scheme chosen, and the employee׳s gender. Employers then decide how the pie will be split, as in a dictator game. Whereas employers do not discriminate by gender when tournaments are chosen, they take substantially and significantly more from female employees who choose piece-rate remuneration. A discriminatory wage gap occurs which cannot be attributed to employees׳ performance.     

Logistics performance and export competitiveness: European experience

Logistics performance has become a decisive factor in export competitiveness. At the same time, and as a result of the continuous enlargement processes it has undergone, the European Union (EU) is a very interesting case to study how the reforms that enhance logistics performance have affected exports. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse the importance of logistics performance in regard to EU exports over the period 2005–2010 in an attempt to identify possible advances on behalf of Member States. Several gravity equations are estimated using the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and its components as characteristic proxy variables of trade facilitation. In order to avoid the possible heterogeneity caused by sample bias, the two-stage model proposed by Heckman is used. The estimations of the gravity models using the two-stage Heckman model for all 26 EU countries have led us to conclude that logistics was more important for exporting nations than importing nations in both 2005 and 2010, reinforcing the interest in the exporter side of the paper. In reference to the components of the LPI, Competence and Tracking has acquired greater importance in recent years, in keeping with the weak domestic demand in European countries and the search for new international markets.     

International trade and competitiveness

We analyze the role of international market size differences in determining the investment in process R&D (and thus firms?? competitiveness) in a trade model with oligopolistic market structure, non-homothetic production technology and costly trade. We show that the R&D effort is higher (or even disproportionately so) for firms in the larger market, which causes endogenous asymmetries across countries. As a result, firms in the larger market have higher competitiveness, which increases their market shares in international markets. Furthermore, and contrary to what is predicted by Krugman (Am Econ Rev 70:950?C959, 1980) ??home market effect??, in equilibrium the larger country does not need to host a disproportionately higher share of the world??s industry than of the world??s demand. Despite this, the larger country can still continue to run a trade surplus in the oligopolistic sector, since it hosts firms with higher competitiveness than firms in the smaller country.     

Technology and international competitiveness

This article analyses the structure of trade and trade performance of the largest six OECD economies in the 1980s. The article is concerned in particular with the role of technology and innovation and the relationship between specialization in sectors of high, medium or low technology intensity and trade performance. It assesses the argument that the maintenance of international competitiveness requires the advanced economies to become internationally competitive, and to specialize, in higher technology sectors, given that there is increasing competition, especially from newly industrializing countries in low technology products. Section I considers the theoretical basis of this hypothesis; Section II assesses whether it is compatible with data on manufacturing trade performance in the 1980s.     

Social welfare and competitiveness

The predominant narrative of globalisation is that it has led to a decline in the power of the nation state and an increase in the power of markets. Others note that the power of the state has increased along some dimensions, even as it has lost economic power. Both of these literatures, however, tend to be too reductive by focusing on the national scale. In contrast, this paper argues that globalisation may reconfigure, respatialise, and potentially increase the economic and political power of certain states. This hypothesis is tested empirically through reference to Chinese engagement in the Southern African country of Zambia using data obtained from in-depth interviews conducted with government officials, Chinese business owners, employees and other key informants.     

Environmental regulations and industrial competitiveness: evidence from China

Economic activities are closely related to real-world environmental issues. Currently, more attention is paid to the association between environmental regulations and industrial competitiveness (IC) because of pressures on economic development and environmental protection. In this study, we identify and explain the association between environmental regulations and IC in China. As the largest developing country in the world, China has the unavoidable responsibility of protecting the environment and promoting global economic development. We analyse the mechanisms behind environmental regulations and industrial competiveness at the provincial level and conclude that the impact of environmental regulations upon IC is not a simple linear one, but a U-shaped relationship. It is argued that the crucial intervention to activate the U-shaped relationship, or Porter’s Hypothesis, is innovation, which can be triggered by stringent regulations and well-designed policies.     

Evaluation of regional tourism competitiveness：a case study of southwest China

Evaluation of regional tourism competitiveness has been a hot issue of tourism geography and regional economics in recent years. This study introduces system theory and Professor Porter＇s National Diamond Model into constructing the evaluation index system of regional tourism competitiveness, which includes four decisive factors, namely production factor, market, industry and support competitiveness. And by comprehensive use of subjective and objective methods like Principal Component Analysis （PCA） and Analysis Hierarchy Process （AHP） the appraised values were calculated. At the same time, the method was applied to dynamic demonstration analysis of the tourism competitiveness of the provinces in Southwest China from 2001 to 2005. The result shows that their tourism comprehensive competitiveness has distinct differences. The comprehensive competitiveness of Sichuan and Yunnan are better, Chongqing and Guangxi are in the middle, and Guizhou and Tibet are weak. According to the competitiveness ranks in 2001-2005, comprehensive, production factor, industry and support competitiveness changed a little and market competitiveness changed a lot. This competitive pattern has been made mostly because natural resource conditions and economic development levels of the provinces are very different and are difficult to be changed in a short period.     

Relative prices and international competitiveness: An empirical investigation

This paper examines the relationship between competitive shares and relative prices for the exports of Japan, Korea and India over the past fifteen years. For Japan the results are consistent with neotechnological theories, and may be explained by a recently explicated model which applies the logic of Hicks' induced innovation mechanism to trade analysis. For the developing countries the results are found to be systematically associated with foreign trade regimes pursued as a part of overall development strategies. Thus the applicability of typical results derivable from standard static trade theories are found to be bound or restricted to special cases defined by stages of economic development, and by policy choices.     

Real exchange rates and competitiveness

This paper examines indicators of competitiveness. It analyses the conceptual foundations of conventional measures of the real exchange rate and finds that inferences about competitiveness from these indicators require strong, and in many cases implausible, assumptions. Based on this analysis some alternative measures are proposed and their use is illustrated using data from Europe. Given the usefulness of standardised indicators, four simple charts are proposed; these help solve some conundrums in the European data and provide the basis for a richer set of inferences about competitiveness.This paper has benefited from discussions with Bob Traa, from comments by Lars Svensson and many colleagues in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and from the analysis inMarston (1986). The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the position of the IMF.     

Measuring market distortion: international comparisons,policy and competitiveness

This paper develops a framework to simultaneously estimate production possibility frontiers and measure distortions in factor and product markets. The econometric results, based on a panel of 61 countries over the period 1970 through 1985, reveal very little distortion in factor markets but considerable distortion in product markets. In addition, the distortions tend to vary with the cyclical behaviour of economic activity. Further, the results suggest that in order to improve efficiency, commercial policy should aim at reducing product-market distortions rather than factor-market ones.     

企业创新网络:一种新型的技术创新模式

企业创新网络是一种适应知识经济社会和技术创新的新型组织形式。它作为相关企业知识交互作用的创新平台,为企业应对复杂的技术创新提供了条件。文章讨论了企业创新网络的产生和发展、网络交互作用特征和企业创新网络模式,并且认为我国企业创新网络的构建在于企业间相关资源要素的集成和区域企业集群竞争力提高。     

Productivity performance and international competitiveness: an old test reconsidered

A modern adaptation of the Ricardian model is used, which incorporates monopolistic competition and multiple factors to derive a MacDougall-type relation between a country's international competitiveness at the industry level and its productivity performance. This relation is implemented empirically for Canada and the United States, using panel data for twenty-five years and forty industries. A key finding is that the Canadian-U.S. productivity ratio is an important determinant of relative shares of Canadian firms in both Canadian and U.S. markets. Trade liberalization between Canada and the United States also plays a significant role in influencing market shares. JEL Classification: F11, F12
Niveau de productivité et compétitivité internationale : un autre coup d'œil à un vieux test . Ce mémoire utilise une adaptation moderne du modèle ricardien qui postule concurrence monopolistique et plusieurs facteurs pour dériver une relation à la MacDougall entre la compétitivité internationale d'un pays au niveau de l'industrie et son niveau de productivité. On calibre cette relation pour le Canada et les États-Unis en utilisant des données pour quarantes industries sur une période de vingt-cinq ans. Un résultat important est que le ratio de la productivité entre le Canada et les États-Unis est un déterminant important des parts de marché des firmes canadiennes tant au Canada qu'aux États-Unis. La libéralisation du commerce entre les deux pays joue aussi un rôle important dans la définition de ces parts de marché.     

Measuring international competitiveness: experience from East Asia

This paper uses a new measure of real exchange rates as an indicator of international competitiveness. This new measure involves defining all prices and exchange rates on an appropriately weighted basket of currencies rather than a single currency. The measure is applied to the data for Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. For comparison purposes, we calculate real exchange rates based on purchasing power parity (PPP) for these countries. To check for the relative performance of the two measures, cointegration tests are employed. The results indicate that the new measure tends to be closely related with the export growth for the sample countries, while the PPP-based measure is not. Moreover, the PPP-based real exchange rates tend to understate the measures of competitiveness for these countries. This result has important implications in terms of the levels of these countries' exchange rates as well as the well-known Balassa hypothesis.     

Sources of Japanese competitiveness and growth

This paper examines the properties of a dynamic equilibrium model focused on sectoral specialization and dynamic competitiveness in international trade. Factors of competitiveness and growth were broken down into three parameters on the export side, two parameters on the import side, and two parameters on the productivity side. Furthermore, the relation between the growth rate of productivity and the wages index is examined. In the first period, 1960–1972, the rapid change in the structure of Japanese production and the composition of Japanese exports paralleled the rapid structural change in the international market and the rapid change in the prices of Japanese exports, stimulating Japanese exports to the international market. The engine of economic growth here is a significant technological change along with improvement of labor and capital productivity. In the second period, 1973–1996, factors such as improving the quality of production, cumulative experience, and the flexibility of price elasticity were crucial factors in increasing Japanese exports. Despite the decline in growth rate of technological change, the engine continued to grow and was supported by increasing the value of the economies of scale.