2026
Working Paper · In Progress
When Innovation Misses the FieldTechnological Appropriateness and International Technology Diffusion
Agricultural machinery is designed for the physical environments of technology-leading countries, temperate climates, flat terrain, large fields. This paper argues that the resulting agro-ecological mismatch between innovating and receiving countries constitutes a structural barrier to mechanization diffusion. Using bilateral patent transfer data and trade flows in agricultural machinery, combined with a novel machine-class-specific mismatch index, I show that greater environmental distance from the technology frontier significantly reduces both patent transfers and machinery imports.
Draft available upon request