本研究利用180-1997年的臺、日、韓總體經濟資料，透過納入國內外研發變數的成模型，評估國際研發外溢與本國研發資本對產出成長率的影響，並比較臺、日、韓三者間之差異。文中以兩種不同的指標來量化國際研發外溢對一國成 長可能產生的影響。以公共財本全定義之國際外溢假設國際知識為公共財，經由仿冒、商業展覽、或學習等管道，本將完全接收其他國家之研發成果。以貿易進口份額定義之外溢指標則假說本國進口份額愈大比重的國家，本國對其外溢之吸收能力將愈大。結果顯示，日、韓兩經濟體之私人研發其產出所產生的加值效果並無顯著不同，而臺灣之正府研發卻在產出成長中份演較私人研發更為重要的角色。雖然國際外溢是日本與韓國快速成長的主要因素之一；不過，對臺灣而言，際研發活動的外溢性雖然會使本國接收他國的研發成果而提昇生產力，但競爭性則可能造成本國產業競爭力的相對下降，因此，國際外溢對臺灣實質產出的成長並未產生如預期的效果。

Based on the 1980-1997 aggregate economic data for Taiwan, Japan and Korea, this paper intends to identify the linkage between international R&D spillovers and productivity growth. Both domestic R&D and foreign R&D stocks are included in the model to compare their effects on GDP growth. The effect of international spillovers is quantified by two indices. The first spillover index emphasizes the public good nature of spillover. Therefore, all firms are assumed to have identical ability of absorbing R&D spillovers, regardless of their sizes or scales. Applying the notion of international spillovers proposed in Coe and Helpman (1995), the second index calculates foreign R&D capital stock as an import-weighted sum of trade partners’ R&D stock. This index is meant to reflect the possibility that an economy receives relatively more knowledge spillovers from economies from which relatively more goods and services are imported. Although international spillovers are found to play a role in explaining the GDP growth of Japan and Korea, our results indicate that, due to the negative effect of foreign R&D efforts on competitiveness of domestic goods and services, knowledge spillovers across geographic boundaries do not help explain the real GDP growth in Taiwan.