TARIFF PROTECTION, PATENTS, AND INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE SPILLOVER - GROWTH AND SHORT-TERM DYNAMICS IN THE UNITED-STATES FROM 1889 TO 1985

This article belongs to the endogenous growth theory in an open economy, and follows the seminal work of Grossman and Helpman where the protection can lead to a transfer of resources from research to production sectors. Therefore, it happens that, in the short run, the protection has a positive effect on growth while, in the long run, a decrease in resources for R & D harms growth. An attempt to test empirically this result constitutes the main objective of this text. We study the case of the US on the period 1889-1985 where we can use unified annual indicators, namely on patent production and tariffs. Using a multivariate error correction model with the Johansen's method (which unifies estimation and tests), we find some preliminary results which show the leading role of the R & D indicator, depending on the fact that the economy is open or strongly protected by tariff barriers.