Abstract :
We examine the diffusion of more than 20 technologies across 23 of the world’s leading
industrial economies. Our evidence covers major technology classes such as textile production,
steel manufacture, communications, information technology, transportation, and electricity
for the period 1788–2001. We document the common patterns observed in the diffusion of this
broad range of technologies. Our results suggest a pattern of trickle-down diffusion that is
remarkably robust across technologies. Most of the technologies that we consider originate in
advanced economies and are adopted there first. Subsequently, they trickle down to countries
that lageconomically. Our panel data analysis indicates that the most important determinants
of the speed at which a country adopts technologies are the country’s human capital
endowment, type of government, degree of openness to trade, and adoption of predecessor
technologies. We also find that the overall rate of diffusion has increased markedly since
World War II because of the convergence in these variables across countries.
r 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
