Path dependence, endogenous innovation and growth

We consider a macroeconomic model of endogenous innovation and growth, in which technological progress is path dependent and technological lock-in may occur. These features of technological change are emphasised in the historical and microeconomic literatures, and are formalised here using a distinction between fundamental and secondary knowledge. Secondary knowledge spills over imperfectly across fundamental technologies, and the historical path of technological development is a central determinant of endogenous rates of technological change. Economic growth depends on the extent of secondary knowledge accumulation, and leapfrogging in cross-country levels of income per capita may occur