Technology spillovers,absorptive capacity and economic growth

By establishing an endogenous growth model with knowledge-driven R&D, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between international technology spillovers, the host country's absorptive capability and endogenous economic growth. The solution to the competitive equilibrium problem shows that long-run growth arises from improvements in absorptive capability and higher human capital stocks, while the relationships between openness, the technology gap and the steady-state growth rate are uncertain. Econometric estimates of China's economic growth are obtained using province level data covering the period 1996–2002. The estimates indicate that technology spillovers depend on the host country's human capital investment and degree of openness, and that FDI is a more significant spillover channel than imports.