develop a model of growth and technology diffusion which
they fit to aggregate data from OECD countries. They estimate the model to explain
international patterns of productivity and patenting and find that more than 50% of growth
in each country in their sample derives from innovation in the United States, Germany, and
Japan. Their results also indicate that imports are significant in explaining technological
diffusion, however, geographical distance and human capital tend to play a much larger
role in this process. Since they only consider technological diffusion between developed
nations these results may underestimate the role that trade may play between developed
and developing nations.