An Empirical Note on Productivity and Technological Diffusion in Nigeria, 1970-2000 Ndem A. Ndiyo Department of Economics, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria Abstract The study analyses the longterm trend in knowledge diffusion and productivity growth in Nigeria, using a translog specification. The results indicate the need for technological upgrading and emphasized that policies designed to promote technological development should address the complementarities between ‘different factors of production. The article, thus, provides some support for the argument that total factor productivity (TFP), as a technological knowledge, can impact significantly on productivity in a developing economy like Nigeria. Introduction Technology is the bedrock of human civilization. It determines, how production can be realized and sets limits on the amount and types of wealth that can be derived from a given combination of resources. The ultimate impact of technology is the enhancement of the well being and influence of man through the creation of wealth. Technology achieves this impact by making man more productive in his environment (Adiele, 2002:3 4). In the process, man gains better understanding of his environment and enjoys a higher standardofliving and control. In the world today, the nations that have acquired advanced technologies are also the most affluent and most powerful. Economic literature suggests that technological deficiency is a critical factor in the analysis of productivity and, of course, the economic backwardness of developing economies. The quest for technological development is justified in terms of the hypothesis that fast rate of economic growth is invariably related to high growth rate of inputs, of which technological development is an important aspect. This is perhaps because economic growth, technical change and productivity are closely linked. Changes in technology are a critical factor which enables man to utilize his resource environment more efficiently and to generate the increase in productivity which is at the heart of the process of economic growth. Therefore, output may be increased by technological innovations, which increase the productivity of the existing supply of resources. The characteristics of technology as an economic good may explain why this initially neglected and now widely investigated factor of production remains relatively concealed. Technology (which is a method of DOI: 10.36108/ssan/32002.5141.0150