On the role of innovation and market structure on trade performance: is Schumpeter right?

PurposeThe goal of the paper is to examine the dynamics between innovation, market structure and trade performance. Firstly, the author first investigates the effects of innovation on trade performance. Secondly, the author then examines how market structure affect trade by classifying industries based on their innovation intensity.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses a detailed level data set of eight OECD countries in a panel of 17 industries from the STAN and ANBERD Database. The author employs both a pooled regression and a two-stage quantile regression analysis. The author first investigates the effects of innovation at the aggregate level, and then the author assesses the effects at the disaggregated or firm level.FindingsThe author finds that at the aggregate level, innovation and market size have a positive and significant effect on competitivity in most of the specifications. However, innovation is negatively associated with trade performance in the case of bilateral trade between Spain and the Netherlands. Also, the sectoral analysis provides evidence that the innovation-trade nexus depends on technological classification. The author shows that: (1) the effect of innovation activity on trade performance economic performance is lower for the high technology and high concentration (HTHC) market compared to the low technology (LT) market; (2) the impact of innovation on economic performance is ambiguous for firms in the high technology and low concentration (HTLC) market.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the database provides a rich data set on industrial data, it fails to provide innovation output such as patent data which may underestimate the innovation activities of firms that do not have a separate R&D records. In the current context of subdue economic growth these research results have important policy implications. Firstly, the positive impact of innovation on trade performance strengthens its role for sustainable development. The negative coefficient on innovation is an indication that research intensity in some cases has not been able to create a new demand capable to boost economic performance.Practical implicationsThe market classification analysis provides new evidence that innovation in the LT market has the potential to enhance competition. Secondly, market size supports industries that are competing in the international market. Policy makers must therefore put in place incentives to encourage firms to grow in size if they want to remain globally competitive.Social implicationsSustainable development can be supported through investment in research and development in the low technology sector.Originality/valueThe study is the first as far as the author knows, to examine the impact of innovation on bilateral trade performance using industry level data from OECD countries. Secondly, the author complements the existing literature by examining how innovation activities (classified as high technological intensive or low technological intensive) affect trade performance.