02180cam a22002777 4500001000700000003000500007005001700012008004100029100002000070245012400090260006600214490004200280500001900322520093500341530006101276538007201337538003601409690015501445690005601600700002301656700002901679710004201708830007701750856003801827856003701865w18534NBER20150802170300.0150802s2012 mau||||fs|||| 000 0 eng d1 aComin, Diego A.14aThe Spatial Diffusion of Technologyh[electronic resource] /cDiego A. Comin, Mikhail Dmitriev, Esteban Rossi-Hansberg. aCambridge, Mass.bNational Bureau of Economic Researchc2012.1 aNBER working paper seriesvno. w18534 aNovember 2012.3 aWe study empirically technology diffusion across countries and over time. We find significant evidence that technology diffuses slower to locations that are farther away from adoption leaders. This effect is stronger across rich countries and also when measuring distance along the south-north dimension. A simple theory of human interactions can account for these empirical findings. The theory suggests that the effect of distance should vanish over time, a hypothesis that we confirm in the data, and that distinguishes technology from other flows like goods or investments. We then structurally estimate the model. The parameter governing the frequency of interactions is larger for newer and network-based technologies and for the median technology the frequency of interactions decays by 73% every 1000 Kms. Overall, we document the significant role that geography plays in determining technology diffusion across countries. aHardcopy version available to institutional subscribers. aSystem requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files. aMode of access: World Wide Web. 7aO3 - Innovation • Research and Development • Technological Change • Intellectual Property Rights2Journal of Economic Literature class. 7aR0 - General2Journal of Economic Literature class.1 aDmitriev, Mikhail.1 aRossi-Hansberg, Esteban.2 aNational Bureau of Economic Research. 0aWorking Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research)vno. w18534.4 uhttp://www.nber.org/papers/w1853441uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w18534