摘要：This paper examines the relationships between the R&D sector activities of the EU and the US
using multivariate Granger-causality tests. The multivariate framework employed also allows us to
make causal inferences about the effects of R&D activity on labour productivity in the home and
foreign country. As a novelty, we employ the subset transfer function methodology to account for
the possibility of “dry holes” in the effects of R&D efforts on economic activity. Our estimation
results indicate that R&D activity in the EU is a direct Granger-cause of both R&D and labour
productivity in the US, and the effects are negative. On the other hand, the EU reacts positively to
increases in R&D productivity in the US. These findings are largely in line with the actual
developments in the productivity differentials between the EU and the US and the patterns in their
relative shares in the world market for high tech exports.
关键词：R&D races, productivity spillovers, direct Granger-causality, EU’s Lisbon targets,
high tech exports
