Elise S. Brezis


Professor of Economics


Curriculum vitae



Head, Forum Macro of Israel


Department of Economics


Bar-Ilan University, Israel



Leapfrogging in International Competition: A Theory of Cycles in National Technological Leadership


Journal article


Elise S. Brezis, Paul R. Krugman, Daniel Tsiddon
American Economic Review, vol. 83(5), American Economic Association, 1993 Dec, pp. 1211-1219

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APA
Brezis, E. S., Krugman, P. R., & Tsiddon, D. (1993). Leapfrogging in International Competition: A Theory of Cycles in National Technological Leadership. American Economic Review, 83(5), 1211–1219.

Chicago/Turabian
Brezis, Elise S., Paul R. Krugman, and Daniel Tsiddon. “Leapfrogging in International Competition: A Theory of Cycles in National Technological Leadership.” American Economic Review 83, no. 5 (December 1993): 1211–1219.

MLA
Brezis, Elise S., et al. “Leapfrogging in International Competition: A Theory of Cycles in National Technological Leadership.” American Economic Review, vol. 83, no. 5, American Economic Association, Dec. 1993, pp. 1211–19.


Abstract

Endogeneous-growth theory suggests that technological change tends to reinforce the position of the leading nations. Yet sometimes this leadership role shifts. We suggest a mechanism that explains this pattern of "leapfrogging" as a response to occasional major changes in technology. When such a change occurs, the new technology does not initially seem to be an improvement for leading nations, given their extensive experience with older technologies. Lagging nations have less experience; the new technique allows them to use their lower wages to enter the market. If the new technique proves more productive than the old, leapfrogging of leadership occurs.

Keywords: leapfrogging, international competition, technological leadership