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Technology Transfer in Global Value Chains

  • Thomas Sampson
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
vol. 16, no. 2, May 2024
(pp. 103-46)
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Abstract

Global value chains create opportunities for North-South technology diffusion. This paper studies technology transfer in value chains when contracts are incomplete and input production technologies are imperfectly excludable. It introduces a new taxonomy of value chains based on whether the headquarters firm benefits from imitation of its supplier's technology. In inclusive value chains, where imitation is beneficial, the headquarters firm promotes technology diffusion. But in exclusive value chains headquarters seek to limit supplier imitation. The paper analyzes how this distinction affects the returns to offshoring, the welfare effects of technical change, and the social efficiency of knowledge sharing.

Citation

Sampson, Thomas. 2024. "Technology Transfer in Global Value Chains." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 16 (2): 103-46. DOI: 10.1257/mic.20220016

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • F14 Empirical Studies of Trade
  • F23 Multinational Firms; International Business
  • L14 Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation; Networks
  • L24 Contracting Out; Joint Ventures; Technology Licensing
  • O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
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