Abstract This study investigates the role of international spillovers in generating productivity gains for a panel of 24 OECD countries during the period between 1971 and 2004. We use recent techniques developed in a common factor framework to characterize the global interdependence implied by international spillovers and the diffusion mechanisms involved. Consistently with some recent studies in this field, the evidence suggests that there are substantial cross-country spillovers mainly related to R&D and human capital variables, which contribute significantly to productivity.