How Knowledge Crosses Borders: Evidence from Semiconductor Manufacturing

Pinelopi Goldberg, Reka Juhasz, Giulia Lo Forte and Jeff Thurk

No 13029, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We show that cross-border learning is an important feature of modern semiconductor manufacturing and that several important channels – such as knowledge sharing along global supply chains, the movement of engineers within multinational firms, and foreign direct investment – operate through market mechanisms rather than anonymous technological spillovers. These findings have significant policy implications. When cross-border learning is mediated by purposeful economic relationships, access to frontier knowledge is neither automatic nor guaranteed. Firms and governments can facilitate – or restrict – the international diffusion of technology, implying that policies to foster domestic technological upgrading are likely to be most effective when coupled with continued access to global sources of frontier knowledge.

Keywords: semiconductors; international knowledge diffusion; learning-by-doing; cross-border learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F50 F61 L63 N60 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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