Technology Spillover from International Flows: Imports, Foreign Direct Investment and Immigration

This paper examines the externalities that accrue to the United States of America when the trading-partner sample of 19 countries increases Research and Development (R&D) expenditures. Three channels of foreign technology transfer analyzed through international inflows include imports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and immigration. Through these channels, foreign technology affects domestic Total Factor Productivity (TFP), calibrated using Newey-West estimation. We examine the effects of domestic expenditures on Basic, Applied and Experimental R&D on TFP. Empirical results reveal that immigration and imports are channels of transfer of foreign technology. It is also found that domestic expenditures in Basic and Experimental research enhance the level of technology. Thus, the type of research expenditures matters in altering the level of technology.