Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-08-28
Jan De Loecker of New York University reviews “Global Integration and Technology Transfer” by Bernard Hoekman, Beata Smarzynska Javorcik,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Thirteen papers explore how trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) can help increase economic growth by allowing firms to tap into and benefit from the global pool of knowledge. Papers discuss lessons from empirical research on international technology diffusion through trade and foreign direct investment (Bernard Hoekman and Beata Smarzynska Javorcik); econometric versus case study approaches to technology transfer (Howard Pack); foreign direct investment, linkages, and technology spillovers (Kamal Saggi); plant- and firm-level evidence on “new” trade theories (James R. Tybout); the quantity and quality of knowledge--the impact of openness and foreign R&D on north-north and north-south technology spillovers (Maurice Schiff and Yanling Wang); the knowledge content of machines--north-south trade and technology diffusion (Giorgio Barba Navaretti, Schiff, and Isidro Soloaga); exports and economic performance--evidence from a panel of Chinese enterprises (Aart Kraay); foreign investment and productivity growth in Czech enterprises (Simeon Djankov and Hoekman); technological leadership and the choice of entry mode by foreign investors (Javorcik); whether FDI increases the productivity of domestic firms--in search of spillovers through backward linkages (Javorcik); product quality, productive efficiency, and international technology diffusion--evidence from plant-level panel data (Kraay, Soloaga, and Tybout); market discipline and corporate efficiency--evidence from Bulgaria (Djankov and Hoekman); and innovation in… Index.”