Abstract
The literature on catching up suggests that due to diffusion and imitation, relatively backward countries should grow at a faster rate. A model along lines suggested by Abramovitz is constructed to examine this. A country's change in productivity (technological gap) is supposed to depend on the productivity gap itself (relatively backwardness), social capability of adopting new technology, and R&D-activity. Together with a vintage growth model, this set-up gives a lot of different possible explanations of why growth rates differ among nations. The possibilities of both catching up and falling behind are considered.
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Skonhoft, A. Catching up and falling behind, a vintage model approach. J Evol Econ 5, 285–295 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01198308
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01198308