Innovation and Foreign Technology in Italy, 1861-2011

Federico Barbiellini Amidei, John Cantwell and Anna Spadavecchia
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Anna Spadavecchia: University of Reading

No 7, Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: The paper explores the long run evolution of Italy's performance in technological innovation as a function of international technology transfer, reconstructing the different phases and dimensions of Italian innovative activity, tracking the transfer of foreign technological knowledge through a number of channels, analysing the impact of imported technology. The study is based on a newly constructed dataset, over the 1861-2009 period, composed of variables related to: innovation activity performance; foreign technology transfer; domestic absorptive and innovative capability. The analysis highlights, also by econometric assessment, the significant contribution of foreign technology both to innovation activity results and to productivity growth. Differences across channels of technology transfer and historical phases emerge, also in connection with the evolution of human capital endowment and domestic innovative capacity. Machinery imports contributed positively both to innovation activity and to productivity growth; inward FDI contributed positively to productivity growth, but not to indigenous innovation activity; the accumulation of technical human capital fuelled both. In the long Italian Golden Age, for the first time the association of foreign technological knowledge with indigenous innovation processes strengthened productivity significantly. More recently instead the dismal productivity growth is directly associated with formalised innovation activity under-performance and reduced imports of disembodied technology.

Keywords: Italy; Technology Transfer; Innovation; Absorptive Capability; Patenting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F23 N10 O19 O31 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-his, nep-ino, nep-knm and nep-sbm
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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