Technological opportunity, long-run growth and convergence

Jakub Growiec and Ingmar Schumacher

No 2007034, Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) from Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques

Abstract: We derive an R&D-based semi-endogenous growth model where technological progress depends on the available amount of technological opportunity. Incremental innovations provide direct increases in the knowledge stock but they reduce technological opportunity and thus the potential for further improvements. Technological opportunity can be renewed only by radical innovations (which have no direct impact on factor productivity). Investigating the model for its implications on economic growth leads to two basic observations. One, in the long-run, a balanced growth path with a consstant and semi-endogenous long-run economic growth rate exists only in a specific knife-edge case which implies that technological opportunity and knowledge grow at equal rates. Two, the transition need not be monotonic. Specifically, we show under which conditions our model generates endogenous business cylces via complex dynamics without uncertainty.

Keywords: Technological opportunity; incremental innovation; radical innovation; endogenous busuness cycles; balanced growth; Andronov-Hopf bifurcation; complex dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E32 O30 O41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2007-09-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ino, nep-knm and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Technological opportunity, long-run growth, and convergence (2013)
Working Paper: Technological Opportunity, Long-Run Growth, and Convergence (2012)
Working Paper: Technological opportunity, long-run growth, and convergence (2007)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvec:2007034

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