Effectiveness of R&D subsidies during the crisis: firm-level evidence across EU countries

This paper is one of the first attempts in the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of R&D policies in Europe during the great crisis of the late 2000s. Using homogenous firm-level data for the largest EU Member States over the period 2007–2009, we test whether manufacturing firms receiving public subsidies spent more on R&D. The analysis is performed using both non-parametric techniques and parametric estimation methods accounting for the possible endogenous selectivity of R&D subsidies. The hypothesis of full crowding-out is rejected in all countries under exam as firms did not replace their own resources with public grants. However, these firms did not allocate additional funds to research and hence, differently from earlier works, we do not find evidence for additionality effects of R&D subsidies. Our estimates indicate that, albeit not expansive, public subsidies to R&D thwarted the reduction of firm R&D efforts in the aftermath of economic crisis.     

环境规制工具、研发补贴对绿色技术创新的影响研究

梳理了环境规制工具、研发补贴对绿色技术创新的作用机理,以2008—2018年中国工业省级面板数据为样本,利用层次回归分析法实证检验了环境规制工具、研发补贴对绿色技术创新的直接影响与联合影响,并进一步检验了这两类影响的空间异质性。结果显示:(1)直接管制型规制强度与绿色技术创新显著负相关,经济激励型规制强度、研发补贴强度与绿色技术创新显著正相关。(2)从全国层面看,研发补贴对直接管制型规制对绿色技术创新的影响存在正向调节效应,研发补贴与经济激励型规制对绿色技术创新存在正向交互效应。(3)对于东部沿海与长江中下游地区,研发补贴与经济激励型规制对绿色技术创新的交互效应不显著;对于中西部非长江中下游地区,直接管制型规制对绿色技术创新的抑制作用较弱,研发补贴对直接管制型规制绿色创新激励效应的正向调节作用较强。     

The impact of R&D subsidy on innovation: evidence from New Zealand firms

This study examines the impact of government subsidy through R&D grants on innovation output for firms in New Zealand. Using a large database that links administrative and tax data with survey data, we find that R&D grants have a stronger effect on more novel innovation (e.g. applying for a patent or introducing new products to the world) than on incremental innovation (e.g. any product innovation) and that larger, project-based grants are more effective at promoting innovation than smaller, non-project-specific grants. There is little evidence that R&D grants have differential effects between smaller (<50 employees) and larger firms.     

创新政策与企业研发投入 ——来自中国上市公司的证据

创新政策是政府公共政策的重要内容之一,它关系着企业的创新和生产率水平,影响着经济的增长和竞争力的提升。本文建立理论模型分析政府研发补贴和知识产权保护及其政策组合对企业研发投入的影响,并对理论模型的结论进行实证检验。研究结果发现：第一,研发补贴政策和知识产权保护政策均促进企业研发投入,表现为研发补贴和知识产权保护的扶持力度越大,企业研发投入越多;第二,研发补贴政策和知识产权保护政策在促进企业研发投入上是互补的,表现为知识产权保护度越强的地区,研发补贴的增加越有利于研发投入水平的提高,这种促进作用对于技术密集型行业的企业更为明显。因此,选择适宜的创新政策组合可以促进企业的研发投入,对推动社会创新和经济发展具有重要意义。     

Beat 'em or Join 'em? Export Subsidies versus International Research Joint Ventures in Oligopolistic Markets

We compare adversarial with cooperative industrial and trade policies in a dynamic oligopoly game in which a home and foreign firm compete in R&D and output and, because of spillovers, each firm benefits from the other's R&D. When the government can commit to an export subsidy, such a policy raises welfare relative to cooperation, except when R&D is highly effective and spillovers are near-complete. Without commitment, however, subsidisation may yield welfare levels much lower than cooperation and lower even than free trade, though qualifications to the dangers from no commitment are noted.
JEL classification: F 12; F 13     

Multilateral subsidy games

This paper examines the rationale for multilateral agreements to limit investment subsidies. The welfare ranking of symmetric multilateral subsidy games is shown to depend on whether or not investment levels are “friendly”, raising rival profits in total, and/or strategic complements, raising rival profits at the margin. In both Cournot and Bertrand competition, when spillovers are low and competition is intense (because goods are close substitutes), national-welfare-maximizing governments over-subsidize investment, and banning subsidies would improve welfare. When spillovers are high, national governments under-subsidize from a global welfare perspective, but the subsidy game is welfare superior to non-intervention. For helpful comments we are grateful to two referees, to Arijit Mukherjee, and to participants in seminars at Prague and UCD, at the EEA Conference in Lausanne and at the GEP Conference on “New Directions in International Trade Theory” at the University of Nottingham, June 2007. Dermot Leahy acknowledges the support of the Science Foundation Ireland Research Frontiers Programme (Grant MAT 017).     

经济政策不确定性对企业创新持续性的影响 ——基于非线性视角的实证分析

创新是经济发展的动力之源,而创新持续性则是企业保持竞争优势的关键。本文以2009—2020年A股上市公司为样本,探究经济政策不确定性对企业创新持续性的影响。研究发现：经济政策不确定与企业创新持续性之间具有“U型”非线性关系,且研发投入在其中发挥部分中介作用。进一步研究发现：经济政策不确定性对企业创新持续性的“U型”非线性影响在不同区位因素及知识产权保护力度差异下表现出异质性;多个大股东持股及较为宽松的货币政策能够缓解经济政策不确定性对企业创新持续性的“U型”影响。故政府在采用宏观经济政策调控经济发展时要谨慎把握政策调控的尺度,进一步完善我国多层次的资本市场体系,从而不断提升企业的创新持续性水平,推动我国经济的高质量发展。