UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Paths of technology upgrading in the BRICS economies

Dominguez Lacasa, I; Jindra, B; Radosevic, S; Shubbak, M; (2019) Paths of technology upgrading in the BRICS economies. Research Policy , 48 (1) pp. 262-280. 10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.016. Green open access

[thumbnail of Patents BRICS- RP_all.pdf]
Preview
Text
Patents BRICS- RP_all.pdf - Published Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This paper explores technology upgrading of BRICS economies based on a three-pronged approach, which distinguishes between the intensity of technology upgrading, structural change and global interaction. We develop a statistical framework based on patent indicators to measure technological upgrading and apply it to BRICS economies in the period 1980–2015. The paper shows that there is no single path of technology upgrading. Instead, we find several unique paths with different trade-offs between intensity, structural change and the nature of the global interaction. All BRICS economies display increased generation of frontier technological activities, while China and Russia have also increased the intensity of behind frontier technological activities. China has also diversified its technology knowledge base and entered into dynamic frontier areas. With increasing intensity of frontier technology activities of the BRICS, the relative, but not absolute, the importance of foreign actors and international collaboration has declined. However, BRICS economies seem to lack the organisational and complementary capabilities to match the extent of technology sourcing from abroad, observed in high-income countries. Our result represents the application of a new conceptual framework and contributes to assessing the sustainability of innovation-based growth among BRICS.

Type: Article
Title: Paths of technology upgrading in the BRICS economies
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.016
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.016
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: technology upgrading, BRICS, patent indicators, comparative analysis
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > SSEES
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10061747
Downloads since deposit
584Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item