Technology Transfer and Early Industrial Development: Evidence from the Sino-Soviet Alliance
研究了1950年代苏联援助中国的156个项目,发现技术转移中的知识培训对工厂绩效有长期影响,促进了封闭经济下的技术升级和开放后的出口增长。
Abstract This paper studies the long-term effects of technology and know-how transfers on structural transformations. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union supported the construction of the 156 Projects, which were large-scale, capital-intensive industrial clusters in China. These projects included a technology transfer, consisting of state-of-the-art Soviet machinery and equipment, and a know-how transfer, via the training of Chinese engineers, production supervisors, and high-skilled technicians by Soviet experts. We use newly assembled data that follow steel plants for over four decades, and we exploit natural variation in the transfers they eventually received. We find that, while production advantages stemming from Soviet technology faded away if not complemented with training, the know-how transfer had a long-lasting impact on plant performance, stimulated technology upgrade when China was a closed economy, and increased exports to the Western world when China engaged in international trade. The know-how transfer also generated productivity and technology spillovers onto complementary establishments.