Abstract
We present evidence on the differences in the intensity with which ten major technologies are used in 185 countries across the world. We do so by calculating how many years ago these technologies were used in the U.S. with the same intensity as they are used in the countries in our sample. We denote these time lags as technology usage lags and compare them with lags in real GDP per capita. We find that (i) technology usage lags are large, often comparable to lags in real GDP per capita, (ii) usage lags are highly correlated with lags in per-capita income, and (iii) usage lags are highly correlated across technologies. The productivity differentials between the state-of-the-art technologies that we consider and the ones they replace, combined with the usage lags that we document, lead us to infer that differences in the intensity of usage of technologies might account for a large part of cross-country TFP differentials.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barro R., Sala-i-Martin X. (1992) Convergence. Journal of Political Economy 100: 223–251
Basu S. (1996) Procyclical productivity, increasing returns or cyclical utilization?. Quarterly Journal of Economics 111(3): 719–751
Bech M., Hobijn B. (2007) Technology diffusion within central banking: The case of real-time gross settlement. International Journal of Central Banking 3: 147–181
Benhabib J., Spiegel M. (2005) Human capital and technology diffusion. In: Aghion P., Durlauf S.(eds) Handbook of economic growth. North-Holland, Amsterdam
Burnside C., Eichenbaum M., Rebelo S. (1995) Capacity utilization and returns to scale. In: Bernanke B., Rotemberg J.(eds) NBER macroeconomics annual. MIT Press, London, pp 67–110
Caselli F., Coleman W.J. (2001) Cross-country technology diffusion: The case of computers. American Economic Review – AEA Papers and Proceedings 91: 328–335
Chari V.V., Hopenhayn H. (1991) Vintage human capital, growth, and the diffusion of new technology. Journal of Political Economy 99: 1142–1165
Clark G. (1987) Why isn’t the whole world developed? Lessons from the cotton mills. Journal of Economic History 47: 141–173
Comin D., Hobijn B. (2004) Cross-country technology adoption: Making the theories face the facts. Journal of Monetary Economics 51: 39–83
Comin, D., & Hobijn, B. (2007). Implementing technology. NBER Working Paper 12886.
Comin, D., & Hobijn, B. (2009). Lobbies and technology diffusion. Review of Economics and Statistics (forthcoming).
Comin, D., Easterly, W., & Gong, E. (2006a). Was the wealth of nations determined in 1000B.C.? NBER Working Paperx 12657.
Comin, D., Hobijn, B., & Rovito, E. (2006b). Five facts you need to know about technology diffusion. NBER Working Paper 11928 .
David P.A. (1990) The dynamo and the computer: An historical perspective on the modern productivity paradox. American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 80: 355–361
Easter K.W., Abel M.E., Norton G. (1977) Regional differences in agricultural productivity in selected areas of India. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 59: 257–265
Energy Information Administration. (2005). U.S. household electricity report. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/reps/enduse/er01_us.html. Accessed 7 Nov 2008.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. (1996). The economy at light speed: Technology and growth in the information age—and beyond. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas 1996 Annual Report.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2008). FAOSTAT. http://faostat.fao.org/site/336/default.aspx. Accessed 7 Nov 2008.
Griliches Z. (1957) Hybrid corn: An exploration in the economics of technological change. Econometrica 25: 501–522
Hall R.E., Jones C.I. (1999) Why do some countries produce so much more output per worker than others?. Quarterly Journal of Economics 114: 83–116
Jovanovic, B. (2007). The technology cycle and inequality, Mimeo, New York University (Updated version of NBER Working Paper 10910).
Klenow, P., & Rodríguez-Clare, A. (1997). The neoclassical revival in growth economics: Has it gone too far? In B. Bernanke & J. Rotemberg (Eds.), NBER macroeconomics annual (pp. 73–102). MIT Press.
Lucas R.E. Jr. (1990) Why doesn’t capital flow from rich to poor countries?. American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 80: 92–96
Lucas R.E. Jr. (2000) Some macroeconomics for the 21st Century. Journal of Economic Perspectives 14: 159–168
Maddison A. (2007) Contours of the world economy: The pace and pattern of change, 1-2030 AD. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Mansfield E. (1961) Technical change and the rate of imitation. Econometrica 29: 741–766
Mitchell, B. R. (1998a). International historical statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania, 1750–2000 (4th ed.). Houndmills, Basingstokes, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Mitchell, B. R. (1998b). International historical statistics: The Americas, 1750–2000(5th ed.). Houndmills, Basingstokes, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Mitchell, B. R. (1998c). International historical statistics: Europe, 1750–2000 (5th ed.). Houndmills, Basingstokes, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Oliner S.D., Sichel D.E. (2000) The resurgence of growth in the late 1990s: Is information technology the story?. Journal of Economic Perspectives 14(4): 3–22
Parente S.L., Prescott E.C. (1994) Barriers to technology: Adoption and development. Journal of Political Economy 102: 298–321
Parente S.L., Prescott E.C. (1999) Monopoly rights: A barrier to riches. American Economic Review 89: 1216–1233
Prescott E.C. (1997) Needed: A theory of total factor productivity. International Economic Review 39: 525–551
Skinner J., Staiger D. (2007) Technology adoption from hybrid corn to beta blockers. In: Berndt E., Hulten C.M.(eds) Hard-to measure goods and services: Essays in honor of Zvi Griliches. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Tamura R. (1996) From decay to growth: A demographic transition to economic growth. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 20: 1237–1262
Weil D. (2005) Economic growth. Addison-Wesley, Boston
World Bank. (2007) World development indicators. D.C., Washington
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The views expressed in this paper solely reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, nor those of the Federal Reserve System as a whole. This research was completed when Emilie Rovito was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. We appreciate the financial assistance of the NSF (Grants # SES-0517910 and SBE-738101) and the C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics. We would like to thank Mark Bils, Hitesh Makhija, Andres Rodríguez-Clare, Romain Wacziarg, and Matt Wiswall for comments and suggestions.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Comin, D., Hobijn, B. & Rovito, E. Technology usage lags. J Econ Growth 13, 237–256 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-008-9035-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-008-9035-5