Sources and Channels of International Knowledge Spillovers in ASEAN-5: The Role of Institutional Quality

Abstract

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a dynamic and outward-looking regional economy, which has made notable progress in expanding trade and investment. This paper examines whether knowledge spillovers are prevalent among ASEAN-5, focusing on the issues of which channels and which sources are the potential drivers of total factor productivity. The findings reveal that the key spillover channels are exports and non-capital imports coming from source countries such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the G7 countries. The institutional quality plays an instrumental role in increasing total factor productivity through foreign direct investment, especially when the spillovers originate from the OECD and the G7. (c) 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.