Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini Recent documents in Francesco Venturini en-us Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:32:12 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/18 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/18 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:16:55 PDT This paper assesses whether the most relevant R&D technologies at the roots of the new Schumpeterian theories of endogenous growth are consistent with patenting and innovation statistics. Using panel data for twelve US manufacturing industries, we estimate different systems of simultaneous equations drawn on the R&D races designed by the models of growth based on variety expansion, diminishing technological opportunities and rent protection activities. Although all the R&D technologies under examination are empirically grounded, our evidence indicates that those characterized by the increasing difficulty of innovation activities (i.e. diminishing technological opportunities) better fit US data. Francesco Venturini O31, O41, O42 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/17 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/17 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:36:18 PDT This paper examines the impact of knowledge endowments on the economic growth of European regions by considering the channels through which (labour productivity or employment) they increase income levels (GDP per capita). We consider a wide array of knowledge base indicators for explaining the growth performance of 150 developed NUTS2 regions over 1995-2002. Their effect is estimated by controlling for the occurrence of catching-up (or convergence), the regional structural features and the presence of spatial correlation. The results show that GDP per capita growth is positively affected by both the R&D intensity and the share of adults with tertiary education. However, while R&D is particularly effective in explaining the growth of labour productivity, the occupation ratio is significantly influenced by educational attainments. The policy message arising from these findings seems quite straightforward for the regions experiencing a virtuous pattern of economic growth, based on both productivity and employment increases. Instead, for the those characterised by a trade-off between the latter variables the policy approach appears to be more problematic. We show that such a trade-off is particularly evident for the developed regions of Southern European countries. Alessandro Sterlacchini O18, O33, R11 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/16 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/16 Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:53:23 PST Using country-level data, this paper investigates the determinants of productivity in emerging knowledge economies by estimating the spillovers associated with investment in Research & Development (R&D) and Information Technology (IT). The work illustrates that both forms of technicallyadvanced capital (R&D and IT) matter for long-run TFP growth. Furthermore, by inspecting knowledge spillovers associated with either the domestic production or import penetration of high-tech (IT) goods, we show that the R&D base of the domestic producers of IT assets is a fundamental driver of economic growth for the industrialized countries. In terms of TFP gains, a low degree of industry specialization in information technology can only partly be compensated by a country's trade openness, i.e. importing R&Dintensive (IT) goods from abroad. This contrasts to what occurs for less technically-advanced (non-IT) productions, for which trade is an effective conduit for knowledge. Francesco Venturini E22, F43, O32, O47 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/15 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/15 Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:18:42 PDT This paper discusses the role of R&D activities in explaining the weak performance of Italian productivity over the last two decades. We argue that the relatively scarce effort of Italian firms in knowledge-generating activities may be one of the key factors behind the severe fall in TFP growth experienced since the mid-Nineties, especially by the manufacturing sector. Compared to the US and the main EU partners, Italy is characterized by a downsized R&D intensity both in low- and high-tech industries; most importantly, its innovative effort has been stagnating from the beginning of the last decade. These aspects appear particularly worrisome as occurring when R&D inputs have become a key factor for sustaining the competitiveness of the industrialised economies, for which the advantages of imitating foreign innovation are increasingly smaller. Alessandro Sterlacchini 03, 04, L6 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/14 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/14 Tue, 27 May 2008 00:28:18 PDT By means of different econometric techniques, this paper estimates the relationship between knowledge capabilities (namely the intensities of R&D activities and higher education) and GDP per capita growth of European developed regions. Along with the structural features and the initial income levels of the regions, our estimations account for the presence of spatial dependence. We find that regional growth is positively affected by R&D intensity and the share of adults with tertiary education. These findings are robust to alternative estimation procedures, as arising from both standard OLS regressions on country demeaned data and ML estimations of different spatial models. Alessandro Sterlacchini R11, O33, C31 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/13 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/13 Wed, 07 May 2008 02:49:33 PDT Francesco Venturini http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/12 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/12 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:29:56 PDT By considering a regional sample of Italian inventors, this paper explores the factors behind the different individual performances in terms of number and quality of patents. Our reference population is composed of 570 inventors residing in the Marche region who, over the period 1991-2005, have contributed to 743 patent applications filed at the European Patent Office. Looking at the number of patents per inventor, a Lotka's distribution emerges suggesting that also for geographical areas inventive activities are highly concentrated in a few key inventors. To examine whether both the inventive productivity and quality are affected by individual and firm characteristics, we use the outcomes of a survey on 106 inventors. We find that the patent productivity is not influenced by individual characteristics but it is higher for the inventors working in teams and employed in large firms with greater patent portfolios. With respect to patent value we employ a composite index in which forward citations, claims and patent families are taken into account. Measured in this way, patent quality is significantly associated, along with the presence of an inventive team, with a set of individual features such as the inventors' experience and level of education. This suggests that inventions coming from individuals working in small firms or independently can be as valuable as those generated by inventors occupied in larger companies. Francesco Schettino O31, O34 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/11 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/11 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:35:19 PDT This paper presents a growth model where the technological externality (learning-by-doing) generated by ICT is the key mechanism for development. If hi-tech assets are able to engender increasing returns, as being knowledge (or R&D) based or because creating network externalities, then the economy benefits from total spending on ICT goods, both for productive and consuming aims. Therefore, hi-tech consumption may emerge as a complementary source (with respect to investment) of growth in the industrialized countries as, here it is shown, for the U.S. productivity resurgence of the mid-Nineties. Francesco Venturini O33, O41, O47 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/10 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/10 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:07:04 PST Francesco Venturini http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/9 http://works.bepress.com/francesco_venturini/9 Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:05:21 PST Using data for twelve manufacturing industries of five developed countries over the period 1980- 2002, we perform a dynamic panel estimation - based on a ECM model - of the long-run elasticity of TFP with respect to the stock of R&D capital. The highest elasticity is found for the US (0.51) while lower values arise for Germany (0.29), France (0.23) and Spain (0.22); the latter, in turn, are higher than that estimated for Italy (0.14). The unsatisfactory performance of Italian manufacturing industries is confirmed by further analyses in which a better measurement of TFP is provided and the time period extended. The above findings and their policy implications are discussed firstly in the light of the US-EU divide in terms of R&D-induced productivity growth and, subsequently, by focussing on the Italian case. Alessandro Sterlacchini 03, 04, L6 O3, O4, L6