Replication Data for: International technological diffusion, latecomer advantage and economic globalization: a multi-technology analysis (with Richard Perkins), Annals of the American Association of Geographers 95 (4), 2005, pp. 789-808

The diffusion of modern, efficient technology has far-reaching consequences for the geography of economicactivity, inequality, and environmental quality. This article examines two popular yet highly controversial claimsabout the conditions most favorable to the rapid spread of new technology. The first states that latecomeradvantage allows developing countries to diffuse new technology faster than developed countries. The secondclaim, widely articulated by advocates of neoliberal policy reform, is that new technologies diffuse more rapidlywhere countries are ‘‘open’’ to international trade and investment. To investigate these claims we use eventhistoryanalysis to estimate the determinants of diffusion speed across a large panel of developed and developingcountries for three very different technologies. These are: continuous steel casting, shuttleless textile weavinglooms, and digital telephone mainlines. Our results broadly support both propositions. Countries that adopt newtechnology later or have a smaller existing capital stock—characteristic features of developing countries—diffusenew technology more rapidly than countries that adopt earlier or have more installed capacity—two characteristicsof developed countries. Trade openness is also found to influence the rate of diffusion positively for allthree technologies. Yet, consistent with recent empirical studies, we fail to find support for the idea that foreigndirect investment (FDI) accelerates the diffusion of new technology in host economies. The article concludes bydiscussing the geographical implications of our findings. Key Words: diffusion, globalization, industrialization,latecomer, technology.