Date of Graduation

5-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Economics (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Economics

Advisor/Mentor

Ferrier, Gary

Committee Member

Deck, Cary

Second Committee Member

Horowitz, Andrew

Keywords

BRIC(S) Countries; Spillover Effects; Stochastic Frontier Approach; Technical Efficiency

Abstract

This study investigates the technical efficiency of BRIC-countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) at the disaggregated level of six economic activities using stochastic frontier approach. Technical efficiency scores and efficiency externalities effects of international trade and foreign direct investment inflows are estimated based on the panel of sixteen countries - G20 members - over the period from 1995 to 2009. The results suggest that foreign direct investment is a conduit of the positive technological spillovers in all sectors under analysis. Once controlling for the domestic level of the human capital that captures technology absorptive capacity, the positive effect of the international trade is observed in the industrial sector in general and manufacturing in particular, as well as in trade, hotels and restaurants. The positive impact of the human capital on the level of technical efficiency is significant for all sectors, except for the agriculture, and robust for two different measures of human capital.

Included in

Economics Commons

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