Technology in India and China
The work of Lee Branstetter, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, was recently featured in a special report in The Economist.
In Technology in India and China: Leapfrogging or Piggybacking? Branstetter notes that China's firms have not managed “to leapfrog ahead and bend or even suspend the law of comparative advantage.” China is where electronic goods are made, but only about 15% of the value of China's electronic and IT exports is added in China; the rest is imported.
Branstetter’s research interests include the economics of technological innovation, international economics, industrial organization, and economic growth in East Asia, with a particular focus on China and Japan. His papers span a wide range of topics, including the effects of patent laws on international technology transfer, the role of multinationals in the diffusion of technology across national boundaries, the impact of research consortia on the research productivity of participating firms, and the evolution of trade and investment policies in the People’s Republic of China.
Branstetter is also a faculty research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research and serves as an associate editor of the Journal of International Economics.
