Working Paper: NBER ID: w16378
Authors: Diego A. Comin; Bart Hobijn
Abstract: In the aftermath of World War II, the world's economies exhibited very different rates of economic recovery. We provide evidence that those countries that caught up the most with the U.S. in the postwar period are those that also saw an acceleration in the speed of adoption of new technologies. This acceleration is correlated with the incidence of U.S. economic aid and technical assistance in the same period. We interpret this as supportive of the interpretation that technology transfers from the U.S. to Western European countries and Japan were an important factor in driving growth in these recipient countries during the postwar decades.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: E13; O14; O33; O41
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| US economic aid (F35) | reduction in technology adoption lags (O33) |
| US economic aid (F35) | increased adoption lags for older technologies (O33) |
| reduction in technology adoption lags (O33) | postwar productivity growth (O49) |
| US economic aid (F35) | lowering of adoption costs (J13) |
| lowering of adoption costs (J13) | reduction in technology adoption lags (O33) |