Exporting,R&D investment and firm survival in the Indian IT sector

This paper examines the effect of exporting and R&D investment on firm survival for a panel of Indian IT firms. We show that exporting has competing effects on firm survival. On the one hand, exporting and investing in productivity are complementary activities, while, on the other, exporting activity is an additional source of uncertainty for the firm. We show that both effects influence survival, but operate at different points in time. Specifically, the hazard facing exporters is higher than non-exporters in the initial phase following entry into the export market, reflecting the fact that exporters are particularly vulnerable to shocks in the start-up phase. However, over time, exporters benefit more from productivity gains than non-exporters and the hazard facing exporters falls below that confronting non-exporters.     

Innovation,learning, and exporting in China: Does R&D or a technology index matter?

This paper undertakes econometric analysis of innovation, learning, and exporting in automobiles and electronics firms in China using a large-scale 2003 dataset to identify the most appropriate innovation proxy. Drawing on recent literature on innovation and learning in developing countries, it tests two alternative proxies: (i) a technology index (TI) to capture a variety of minor activities involved in using imported technologies efficiently; and (ii) the research and development (R&D)-to-sales ratio, which represents formal technological efforts to create new products and processes, often at world frontiers. A higher TI increases the probability of exporting in both industries, while the R&D-to-sales ratio was not significant. Foreign ownership, technical manpower, and the characteristics of the general manager/chief executive officer also matter. The findings suggest that China's remarkable success in the export of automobiles and electronics since initiating an open-door foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in 1978 is linked to technology transfer from multinationals; systematic investments in and upgrading of minor technological activities (like search, engineering, quality management and design); and human capital. As China's per capita income rises over time, however, formal R&D activities are likely to become more important to sustain competitiveness and technological upgrading in automobiles and electronics.     

Innovation, international R&D spillovers and the sectoral heterogeneity of knowledge flows

We analyze the relative effects of national and international, intrasectoral and intersectoral R&D spillovers on innovative activity in six large, industrialized countries over the period 1980–2000. We use patent applications at the European Patent Office to measure innovation and their citations to trace knowledge flows within and across 135 narrowly defined technological fields. Using panel cointegration we show that intersectoral spillovers have a key impact on innovation activities and that domestic R&D has a stronger effect than international R&D. However, within technological fields, estimated international R&D spillovers are 2.4 times the national R&D effects. We find significant differences across chemicals, electronics and machinery industries.     

A Duality Between Cost-Reducing R&D versus Quality-Improving R&D and Welfare Analysis in a Hotelling Model

Two versions of research and development (R&D) activities in a Hotelling model with endogenous spillover effect, one with cost-reducing R&D and the other with quality-improving R&D, are analyzed in this paper. The result points out that two such kinds of R&D activities will share identical strategic properties, and that we shall be able to derive the equilibrium strategies of a quality-improving R&D model from those of a cost-reducing R&D model, and vice versa. It is found that the special market demand in a Hotelling model in fact plays a crucial role as well. This paper also provides a welfare analysis, the results of which show that government intervention via taxing the locations and subsidizing R&D efforts can remedy the market failure resulting from excess differentiation on locations and under-investment on R&D expenditures in non-cooperative equilibrium.     

R&D,unemployment, and labor market policies

This paper studies the effects of labor market policies on R&D activities and unemployment. I develop a search and matching model in which firms’ R&D decisions are endogenously determined. The model demonstrates that more intensive labor market policies that protect workers reduce the levels of R&D activities. This study offers a theoretical framework to understand the relationship between R&D activities, labor market policies, and unemployment which is discussed in empirical studies.     

R&D subsidies and business R&D: Evidence from high-tech manufacturing firms in Jiangsu

We investigate how R&D subsidies affect business R&D investments using cross-section data of high-tech manufacturing firms in Jiangsu province of China. Our estimations based on propensity score matching suggest that public subsidies positively influence business R&D investments. Further classifying firms into different groups by size, financial constraints, and ownership, we find that the stimulation effect is more significant and stronger for smaller firms, more financially constrained firms, and private-owned firms. The heterogeneity of policy effects with respect to export status, Relative Comparative Advantage index, region, and industry are also discussed.     

R&D,financing constraints and export green-sophistication in China

This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effects of R&D and financing constraints on the green-sophistication of Chinese firm exports. The theoretical model predicts that firms' R&D expenditure improves the level of green sophistication and financing constraints have moderating effects on firms' the export green-sophistication. The paper constructs an index of the export green-sophistication by incorporating green coefficient in traditional export sophistication. We use the data from the China industrial firm database and confirm our theoretical predictions. The financing constraints are found to have a significant moderating effects on the relationship between R&D and export green-sophistication in basic test and robustness check.     

Product Reliability,R&D,and Manufacturing Cost Shocks

Suppose a firm’s research and development (R&D) improves product reliability which in turn decreases the cost of product failure for both the firm and its customers. The primary research question of the paper is how a firm with market power optimally adjusts its R&D if it experiences a manufacturing cost shock. Our model suggests that a manufacturing cost shock prompts the firm to do less R&D in the cases where the replacement cost is low or the marginal manufacturing cost is high. Conversely, if the replacement cost is high and the marginal manufacturing cost is low, then the firm increases R&D, mitigating some of the increase in the manufacturing cost. The paper also compares the outcomes for reliability, profits, consumer surplus, and social surplus for the optimal R&D case as compared to the case of doing no R&D, paying particular attention to how exogenous changes in the marginal manufacturing cost affect this comparison.     

Strategic R&D policy in a quality-differentiated industry with three exporting countries

We examine strategic research and development (R&D) policy for quality-differentiated products in a third-market trade model. We extend the previous work by adding a third exporting country, so that the market structure is international triopoly. We show that the presence of the third exporting country affects strategic R&D policies. With three exporting countries, the lowest-quality exporting country gains from taxing domestic R&D and the middle-quality exporting country gains from subsidizing domestic R&D under both Bertrand and Cournot competition. As in the duopoly case, however, the optimal unilateral policy for the highest-quality exporting country depends on the mode of competition. Various cases of policy coordination by exporting countries are also examined.     

Measuring the Transaction sector in the Australian economy, 1911–1991

Following Wallis and North's pioneering attempt to estimate the size of transaction costs in the United States over the period 1870 to 1970, we seek to augment this seminal study by applying their methodology to the Australian economy for the period 1911 to 1991. Broadly speaking, our results support the Wallis and North finding with comparable magnitudes and growth rates in both the private and public transaction sectors.     

环境规制、技术距离与异质性企业研发选择

文章从技术异质性角度,指出环境规制产生的利润削弱效应和摆脱规制效应下,异质性企业有不同的研发选择。环境规制一方面会削弱企业研发的边际收益,不利于企业研发;另一方面也会刺激企业增加研发以摆脱环境规制成本。这两种效应在不同技术企业中的差异会导致异质性企业截然不同的研发选择。为此,文章首先构建一个理论模型,推导出环境规制产生的利润削弱效应和摆脱规制效应下,不同技术企业的研发选择。发现对于高生产率企业,环境规制产生的摆脱规制效应超过利润削弱效应,环境规制力度增加会刺激企业增加研发;而对于低生产率企业,环境规制产生的利润削弱效应起主导作用,环境规制力度增加反而阻碍企业研发。进一步利用环境规制的政策实验和工业企业微观数据,对以上观点进行实证检验。发现环境规制对企业研发的影响取决于其所处的技术水平,这不仅体现在集约边际企业的研发投入上,也体现在广延边际企业是否研发的选择上。集约边际上,环境规制增加了高生产率企业的研发投入,但这种作用随着企业与技术前沿的距离增加而递减,最终逆转为减少低生产率企业研发投入。广延边际上,环境规制使低生产率企业相对高生产率企业进入研发的概率更低,而退出研发的概率却更高。     

政府补贴对高新技术产业研发创新能力影响研究

文章以高新技术产业为研究对象,选取2001-2018年我国上市公司的财务数据,分析政府补贴能否提振高新技术产业的研发创新能力。研究结果表明:政府补贴有利于促进企业研发投入,显著增加外观设计专利和实用新型专利的产出,但是对发明专利的产出不显著,其创新质并没有有效提升;政府补贴对国有企业和民营企业以及东中西部地区的研发创新能力存在显著差异,对国有企业研发投入和专利产出比民营企业大,对东部地区的研发投入和专利产出影响较为显著,但是对中部和西部地区的研发投入和专利产出激励效果不够明显。基于研究结论提出相关建议:国家应完善政府补贴政策的顶层设计,优化对国有和民营企业的补贴机制,注重民营企业在市场中的地位,并适当提高中、西部地区的财政补贴;加大对企业研发投入补贴以及发明专利产出数量的政策激励,提高发明专利比重,并降低实用新型专利在国家专利制度体系中的比例和数量;企业应注重创造性人才培养,政府需要完善健全知识产权保护制度。     

研发国际化与企业创新绩效——吸收能力和地理多样性的调节作用

新兴经济体企业的国际化行为已经成为国际商务领域的研究热点之一,但如中国这样的新兴经济体的跨国企业是否能够通过研发国际化行为提升母公司的创新绩效,现有文献对该问题尚缺乏足够的研究。文章基于2011-2017年间沪深两市310家信息技术业上市跨国企业的年度观察数据,采用泊松面板固定效应模型考察了企业研发国际化与母公司创新绩效之间的关系,并首次从逆向知识转移的视角,探讨了吸收能力和地理多样性对研发国际化和创新绩效两者关系的调节作用。实证结果表明：中国企业的研发国际化显著促进母公司创新绩效的提升;以研发投入强度衡量的企业吸收能力显著正向调节研发国际化和创新绩效之间的关系,而以布劳异质性指数测量的地理多样性则显著负向调节研发国际化和创新绩效的关系。研究结果对中国企业国际化行为具有重要启示。该研究发现意味着中国企业在国际化过程中应该加大海外研发投资力度以提升母公司创新绩效,且为更好地实现外部知识的逆向转移,应同时提高企业总体研发投入强度。但作为新兴经济体企业,不宜在地理分布上实行快速扩张,否则较高的沟通和协调成本将弱化逆向知识转移的程度,而不利于母公司创新绩效的提升。     

Economic growth,inequality, and poverty in Vietnam

This study examines how poverty reduction has been associated with economic growth and inequality in Vietnam. It finds that although the speed of poverty reduction was lower in the 2000s than in the 1990s, economic growth was more pro‐poor in the latter period. During the 1993–98 period, expenditure inequality increased and the poverty reduction during this period was mainly caused by economic growth. During the 2004–08 period, however, expenditure inequality decreased, thereby contributing to poverty reduction. The poverty incidence declined by around 5 percentage points, of which expenditure growth and redistribution contributed 2.8 and 2.2 percentage points of poverty reduction, respectively.     

R&D,trade in intermediate inputs,and the comparative advantage of advanced countries

This paper examines the accumulation of physical capital versus knowledge (R&D) capital as a determinant of advanced countries’ comparative advantage. I show that advanced countries are abundant in R&D resources, specialize in knowledge-intensive stages of high-technology industries, and outsource labor-intensive stages of the industries to labor-abundant countries. In contrast, global data on production and trade cannot support the conventional view that advanced countries specialize in and export capital-intensive goods. My results indicate that the accumulation of knowledge capital plays a vital role in explaining advanced countries’ comparative advantage.     

Inequality in healthcare R&D outcomes: a model of process disruption

ABSTRACT

The developing world has substantively different healthcare research and development (R&D) needs than the developed world. In this paper it is argued that healthcare inequality is primarily an outcome of the incentives of an innovation system that privileges wealthy markets. Given the difficulties inherent in challenging these incentive structures, it might be the R&D process itself (rather than its incentive structures) that, if disrupted, may ultimately improve access to R&D outcomes for poor populations. The objective of this paper is to spur novel thinking about the problem of healthcare inequality by developing a provocative conceptual model of healthcare R&D process disruption, based on the application of novel technologies to the research process itself, to radically lower the costs of R&D. The model developed here suggests that healthcare inequality might ultimately be mitigated by substantial reductions in time and cost in the biomedical R&D process made possible by novel technologies.     

Local land supply and fiscal incentives for R&D: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Whereas numerous studies have evaluated the effects of public research and development (R&D) support programs and R&D tax incentives on private R&D, little is known about local governments' fiscal incentives for R&D. In this study, we build a conceptual framework to clarify the critical role of local land supply in relation to fiscal expenditure on R&D. We treat the establishment of China's nine Land Supervision Bureaus in 2006 as a quasi-natural experiment, and run a difference-in-differences regression to identify causality. The results show that local governments allocate more fiscal expenditure to R&D in response to land-use supervision, which monitors illegal land granting behaviors, and this effect is stronger in cities where leaders have higher political career incentives and cities with greater fiscal decentralization. Moreover, we find that land-use supervision increases the probability and scale of firms' access to government subsidies for R&D; thus, enhancing regional innovation capacity. Our findings document that China's land resource is a curse for its innovation-driven growth as it impedes local governments' fiscal incentives for R&D.