International alliances and technology diffusion: A worldwide analysis of adoption of energy, railway and satellite technologies

Abstract

This study analyzes the role of international alliances in the adoption of new technology at the national level. We look at the worldwide diffusion of six key infrastructure technologies during the past six decades among 161 countries: nuclear power, solar power, wind power, marine power, high-speed rail, and telecommunication satellites. Acknowledging that international relations are not solely structured by formal alliances, we further investigate the impact of neighboring states on technology diffusion, as neighbors tend to maintain strong economic and cultural ties. We further look at simple imitation effects between states with similar political systems. With our focus on international alliances as drivers of international technology diffusion, our study complements economic studies on technology diffusion. For most of the technologies, we find evidence for spillovers between allied states as well as between neighboring states, while no such evidence was found for institutionally similar states. These results confirm the important role that international alliances may play in technology diffusion.