The impact of foreign R&D on total factor productivity in the East Asian manufacturing industry

Applying a stochastic production frontier we examine the extent to which industrial countries' R&D contributes to East Asian economies' total factor productivity (TFP) growth in manufacturing sectors, via foreign trade as the channel for technological spillovers, based on a sample of nine manufacturing sectors for eight East Asian economies from 1973 to 1998. Our findings provide evidence that foreign R&D spillovers through imports are the main determinant of these economies' TFP growth, with output elasticity standing at an average of 0.09, consistent with many earlier studies. Both technological progress and efficiency gains are found to be key factors for sustainable economic growth in this region. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and The University of Manchester