Technological Catch-Up through Globalization? Imported Capital Goods, Firm Productivity, and Technical Efficiency in Vietnamese SMEs

I. IntroductionFirms gain from globalization not only through exporting but also through access to foreign intermediate inputs that embody superior technology, quality and variety.Imports of capital goods such as machinery and equipment constitute a key channel of technology diffusion, raising productivity by enabling firms to adopt better or more specialized inputs that match their production needs.A large body of theoretical and empirical literature supports this view.Most empirical studies find that imported inputs increase productivity in the importing country.However, it remains contested whether these gains are broadly realized across firms or primarily accrue