International Technological Diffusion, Comparative Productivity Performance and Specialization: A Study for Manufacturing

The issue of manufacturing TFP convergence through international technological diffusion is analysed on the basis of both aggregate and disaggregate panel data. Regression estimates imply conditional β-convergence, with the levels of schooling and research intensity acting as major conditioning variables. There is also evidence of a degree of actual catching-up and the convergence is, on average, clearly stronger at the disaggregate level than at the level of manufacturing as a whole. The evolution of the standard deviation of the log of TFP shows that there is also evidence of σ-convergence in the same sectors. The stronger TFP convergence at a disaggregate level is explained by a study of the manufacturing production specialisation. This is shown to be substantial, sticky, and only modestly related to the pattern of comparative TFP performance.