We model distribution, the delivery of goods to customers, as an activity governed by its own technology and undertaken by firms subsequently to production operations. We then use the model to investigate how distribution shapes innovation-driven economic growth. We contrast two canonical...

Based on a standard idea-based model of endogenous growth we test the hypothesis that regional innovative activity is path-dependent, and investigate the geographical scope of knowledge spillovers. Using data for West-German regions, two alternative indicators of the stock of knowledge are...

This paper estimates whether learning-by-doing effects or cleansing effects of recessions drive the endogenous component of productivity in the United States. Using Bayesian estimation techniques we find that external and internal learning-by-doing effects dominate. We find no evidence for...

We examine how inequality and openness interact in shaping the long-run growth prospects of developing countries. To this end, we develop a Schumpeterian growth model with heterogeneous households and non-homothetic preferences for quality. We show that inequality affects growth very differently...

We develop an analytical framework where products go through a standard life cycle and product quality is driven by cumulative production experience. Production experience influences the nature of cross-country outsourcing activity, and hence, the contents of trade. Multinational enterprises...

Although the process of innovation is a crucial aspect of economic growth, there is less clarity about the measurement of economically useful ideas. Determining the extent to which different types of institutions contribute to the creation of new knowledge is essential for a deeper understanding...

This study examines the effect of the Great Moderation on the relationship between U.S. output growth and its volatility over the period 1947 to 2006. First, we consider the possible effects of structural change in the volatility process. In so doing, we employ GARCH-M and ARCH-M specifications...

Understanding the process of economic growth involves comparing competing theoretical models and evaluating their empirical relevance. Our approach is to take the neoclassical stochastic growth model directly to the data and make inferences about the model parameters of interest. In this paper,...

I revisit the relationship between growth and volatility in two different disaggregated data sets. I confirm that growth and volatility are negatively related across countries, but show that across sectors, the relation is the opposite. This phenomenon, sometimes called "Simpson's fallacy", has...