Measuring adoption of industry 4.0 technologies via international trade data: insights from European countries

The investigation of the adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and its implications, both at the macro and micro level, has attracted growing interest in the recent literature. Most studies have looked at the production and diffusion of related innovations and knowledge, but what do we know about the adoption of these technologies over time and across countries? In this paper, we look at three I4.0 technologies and present a new empirical perspective able to overcome the limitations of existing attempts at measuring their adoption, generally based on small-scale and country-specific studies. Our study provides a methodology that allows measuring adoption across countries for a relatively long time period. In so doing, we build on the well-established idea in the international economics literature that trade of capital goods captures technology diffusion, and so adoption across countries. We provide preliminary and comprehensive evidence on the adoption of these I4.0 technologies in Europe and set the premise for monitoring its evolution and implications on a large scale and over time.

Per-unit versus ad-valorem royalty licensing in a Stackelberg market

We consider licensing of a non-drastic innovation by a licensor that interacts with a potential licensee in a Stackelberg duopoly, comparing per-unit and ad-valorem royalty two-part contracts and showing why and when each licensing deal should be used. We contribute three findings to the literature. First, ad-valorem royalty is preferred when the licensor plays as leader in the marketplace, but per-unit royalty is preferred when the licensor plays as follower. Second, only innovations that do not hurt consumers are socially beneficial. Third, our model also suggests that both the licensor’s status as a leader or follower in the marketplace and the innovation size determine the incentive to engage in innovative activities.

Facing the complexity of the economy: an opportunity for the new alliance between economics and engineering

In Forging a new alliance between economics and engineering, Sergio Mariotti explores the relationship between economics and engineering. The interactions between economics and engineering is a question rather than trivial and Mariotti faces the problem, firstly, from an historical perspective and, secondly, by identifying the paradigms for the economics–engineering nexus. Three paradigms are proposed, i.e., economics for engineering, economics and engineering, economics as engineering. They offer the opportunity to open new vistas on the future of the relationships between economics and engineering, in particular for facing the complexity of the economy.