The limited transferability of knowledge is pivotal to the shaping and defining of the positive effects on total factor productivity of the limited appropriability of knowledge. Access to and use of knowledge spillovers entail relevant absorption costs and exhibit substantial variance across firms, regions, industries, and countries and thus, have a significant influence on actual knowledge cost levels. The analysis in this paper overcomes the limits of current growth theory and highlights the significant variance in levels of pecuniary knowledge externalities which has strong implications for total factor productivity growth. The benefits of knowledge spillovers become evident only if we account for the absorption costs related to the limited transferability of knowledge. A reduction in these costs translates into greater total factor productivity increases. Building on the hypothesis that European integration has led to a reduction in appropriability levels while simultaneously favoring knowledge transfer, we test whether the associated decline in knowledge costs has had a direct effect on levels and growth of total factor productivity. The empirical analysis uses panel ordinary least squares and an original instrumental variables strategy and is applied to a sample of 12 large European countries and 20 industries over the years 1997 through 2018. It confirms that lower costs and faster reductions in the costs of knowledge result in higher levels and higher rates of growth of total factor productivity.

知识的有限可转移性对于塑造和定义知识的有限专有性对全要素生产率的积极影响至关重要。知识溢出的获取和使用需要相关的吸收成本，并且在企业、地区、行业和国家之间表现出巨大的差异，因此对实际知识成本水平有重大影响。本文的分析克服了当前增长理论的局限性，并强调了金钱知识外部性水平的显着差异，这对全要素生产率的增长具有重大影响。只有当我们考虑到与知识的有限可转移性相关的吸收成本时，知识溢出的好处才会变得明显。这些成本的降低意味着全要素生产率的更大提高。基于欧洲一体化导致专有水平下降同时有利于知识转移的假设，我们检验了知识成本的相关下降是否对全要素生产率的水平和增长产生了直接影响。实证分析使用面板普通最小二乘法和原始工具变量策略，并应用于 1997 年至 2018 年 12 个欧洲大国和 20 个行业的样本。它证实，较低的成本和更快的知识成本降低会导致全要素生产率水平更高、增长速度更快。