Diffusion Of Microelectronics And Advanced Manufacturing Technology: A Review Of National Surveys

Abstract

Applications of microelectronics in products and the use of advanced manufacturing technology in production are important factors driving innovation, productivity improvement and economic growth. Until the early 1980s there were few comprehensive national surveys of the diffusion of these technologies or of their impacts. This paper reviews surveys of firms using these technologies, discusses survey comparability and summarises key empirical results. The value of carefully constructed internationally comparable surveys for analysis and policy formulation is emphasised, and new directions for surveys are suggested.

Keywords:

• Diffusion surveys
• new technologies
• microelectronics in products
• advanced manufacturing technology
• policy implications of diffusion J.E.L. Codes:L23, L63, O33, C81.

^*A first version of this article by G. Vickery and J. Northcott has been published in Science, Technology and Industry Review, no 12, OECD, Paris (1993). The present paper is a revised and expanded version of that original paper, and follows earlier work on improving the comparability of survey results, published in OECD (1989), Government Policies and the Diffusion of Microe1ectronics .The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the OECD or of its member countries.

^*A first version of this article by G. Vickery and J. Northcott has been published in Science, Technology and Industry Review, no 12, OECD, Paris (1993). The present paper is a revised and expanded version of that original paper, and follows earlier work on improving the comparability of survey results, published in OECD (1989), Government Policies and the Diffusion of Microe1ectronics .The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the OECD or of its member countries.

Notes

^*A first version of this article by G. Vickery and J. Northcott has been published in Science, Technology and Industry Review, no 12, OECD, Paris (1993). The present paper is a revised and expanded version of that original paper, and follows earlier work on improving the comparability of survey results, published in OECD (1989), Government Policies and the Diffusion of Microe1ectronics .The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the OECD or of its member countries.