| Abstract: | Technological Specialization in Industrial Countries: Patterns and Dynamics. — This paper employs distribution dynamics and
patent data to study the empirical dynamics of technological specialization in industrial countries. Large countries spread
innovation activities across a wider range of technologies, and their specialization level in a field displays lower probability
to move around its initial level (country size effects). Mobility is high and asymmetric: it is difficult to improve specialization
in very disadvantaged technologies, while high comparative advantages revert towards lower specialization levels. These findings
undermine the theory of technological accumulation and path dependence, its implication of persistence in trade specialization
patterns and the effectiveness of targeted industrial and technology policies. |
