This paper examines how trade helps transfer knowledge to emerging economies. It reviews existing research and uses an analysis of patent statistics to track the spread of knowledge across 18 countries involved in bilateral trade.

The author argues that trade helps transfer technology across both countries and sectors, as seen by the positive relationship between trade activity and number of cites to foreign patents. But, he says, the extent to which knowledge is disseminated depends on cultural and historical proximities and the local technical capacity of acquiring countries.

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