A non-parametric approach to innovation gaps and economic growth

A non-parametric approach based on DEA  techniques is used  to  dis- entangle the  relationship between  innovation growth  and  per-capita GDP growth  in a sample  of 30 countries during  1996-2008.  The decomposition of GDP-growth brings support to the notion of advantage of backward- ness.  It leads to conclude that, in the context of innovation, both the process of catching-up and technological change play an important explanation of the dynamics of economic growth. This is in sharp contrast to alternative evidence that brings more support to the importance of capital deepening in explaining labour growth productivity.