Cross-country technology diffusion: the case of computers

By Francesco Caselli, Wilbur John Coleman. 2001

766 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We use data on imports of computer equipment for a large sample of countries between 1 970 and 1990 to investigate the determinants of computer-technology adoption. We find strong evidence that computer adoption is associated with higher levels of human capital and with manufacturing trade openness vis-a-vis the OECD. We also find evidence that computer adoption is enhanced by high investment rates, good property rights protection, and a small share of agriculture in GDP. Finally, there is some evidence that adoption is reduced by a large share of government in GDP, and increased by a large share of manufacturing. After controlling for the above-mentioned variables, we do not find an independent role for the English- (or European-) language skills of the population.

Subfields: Economics and Econometrics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f9a5612e7078997500dbab426518a6cb7c959471

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In Economics and Econometrics

Citations in the corpus

Environment and Policy Factors Shaping Global E-Commerce Diffusion: A Cross-Country Comparison (2003, result): “We systematically compared the results of these case studies across the countries on each of the factors in the conceptual framework.”
Convergence and Modernization Revisited (2012, background): “Caselli and Coleman (2001) found empirically for developing countries that imports of computers and other high-tech equipment—viewed as a proxy for technology absorption—were spurred by increased imports from technologically advanced countries.”
Accounting for Cross-Country Income Differences (2004, neutral): “Caselli and Wilson (2004) exploit this observation to investigate cross-country differences in the composition of the capital stock.”