COMPLEMENTARITY BETWEEN LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND INTERNATIONALIZATION IN REGIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS

• Published in: Journal of regional science Vol. 46; no. 5; pp. 901 - 929
• Main Authors: López-Bazo, Enrique, Requena, Francisco, Serrano, Guadalupe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.12.2006; Regional Science Research Institute; Wiley Blackwell; Blackwell Publishers Inc
• Series: Journal of Regional Science
• Subjects: Bgi / Prodig; Competition; Competition - Spain; Economic growth; Foreign investment; Foreign investments - Spain; Globalization; Human geography; International trade; Internationalization; Knowledge; Local communities; Political and economic geography; Productivity; Regional economics; Regional economy and planning; Research and development; Spain; Studies; Technological change; Spain; Productivity; Regional economy; Human capital; Economic growth; Model; Factor of production; Internationalization; Knowledge; Research and development
• ISSN: 0022-4146; 1467-9787
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9787.2006.00490.x

ABSTRACT Trade, foreign direct investment, and inter‐regional R&D spillovers facilitate competition, the spread of knowledge, and the adoption of more advanced technologies, which in turn hastens total factor productivity (TFP) growth. The spread of these efficiency gains from internationalization requires a sufficient local knowledge to enable them to be adapted to the domestic productive environment. Thus, higher local knowledge and internationalization will lead to TFP growth, and the greater the complementarity between variables the higher the TFP growth. We test the complementarity hypothesis using Spanish regional data over the period 1980–1995 in which both regional local knowledge and internationalization experienced a notable increase.