Last week the National Bank of Ukraine held another open research seminars with the participation of scholars, experts, analysts and NBU representatives. Mr Vadym Volosovych, Associate Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam (the Netherlands) presented the findings of joint research entitled “Identifying Knowledge Spillovers and Competition Effects”, which investigated the impact of foreign investment on domestic firms' productivity.
The empirical findings of research raised special interest among the audience. Based on the data set from six advanced European countries, the researchers investigate horizontal spillovers among foreign and domestic firms operating in the same sector.
The keynote speaker pointed out that, on the downside, horizontal spillovers tend to increase competition (“negative competition effects”), thus having a negative effect on domestic firms’ productivity. On the upside, the results show that knowledge and technology spillovers from foreign firms to domestic firms have a positive effect on the productivity of domestic firms. The findings of the research have confirmed positive knowledge and technology spillover effects from foreign investment on domestic firms' productivity. However, the notable negative effects of competition between foreign and domestic firms adversely effect the productivity of domestic firms.
Mr Volosovych pointed out that the largest knowledge spillover effect on domestic firms' productivity is observed in sectors where domestic are technologically close to foreign firms. Overall, the positive knowlledge spillover effects outweigh the negative competition effects and account for the bulk of the increase in the productivity of domestic firms operating in technologically close sectors with foreign firms.
As a side note, the NBU has held Open Research Seminars since 2015. These seminars are intended to promote communication and interaction, as well as to provide an efficient platform for high-level expert discussions focused on issues related to the financial system's operation and activities of central banks. These seminars provide researchers and experts with opportunities to exchange ideas and experience with foreign peers, thus contributing to the development of the national research potential, promoting the dissemination and practical application of research findings and providing policy advice to financial market regulators and financial institutions and businesses.
We invite potential contributors to participate in the upcoming seminars and present the findings of their research studies. To this end, please send your submissions (CV, abstract, with an indication of a suitable date for the seminar to take place. Please send your proposals to the Research Division of the Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis Department for consideration via e-mail to: [email protected]
Please follow the link to view the research paper in English:
http://www.uh.edu/~bsorense/spillovers_Oct31_16.pdf
The video of the seminar is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbexOb9vhf8&feature=youtu.be
The proceedings of open research seminars can be found at the following link.