This study addresses the question of why some countries import more R&D- intensive goods than others. Using a panel data set of 80 countries for the period 1970 to 1995, results indicate that domestic investment, FDI and the quality of intellectual property rights (IPR) systems positively affect technology imports. However, the higher the percentage of the workforce with primary studies, the lower technology imports are. Moreover, IPRs tend to reinforce the positive role played by FDI in importing technology while the ability of imitation reduces the effect of IPRs.