Is R & D Financially Constrained? Theory and Evidence from Irish Manufacturing

We re-examine the effects of liquidity constraints on R & D investment. Inour theoretical section we extend the neoclassical framework of investmentin physical capital by introducing R & D and liquidity constraints. Weanalyse this issue empirically using firm-level data for R & D activemanufacturing firms in the Republic of Ireland. Our results provide evidencethat suggests that R & D investment is financially constrained. This is inline with previous studies of U.S. firms.     

Multinational Companies and Entrant Start-up Size: Evidence from Quantile Regressions

This paper analyses the impact of foreign multinationals on the start-up size ofdomestic entrants in Irish manufacturing industries. We use the regression quantileestimator, which allows us to take account of the heterogeneity of entrants' start-upsize. Estimation results show that the presence of foreign multinationals in a sectorimpacts negatively on the start-up size of domestic entrants of all sizes in modernsectors and on the start-up size of large domestic entrants in traditional sectors. Thisnegative effect may be attributed to competition of domestic plants with foreignmultinationals and other domestic plants in the final goods and/or the intermediategoods market.     

Fiscal Policy Reforms in a Global Economy

Two countries are populated by workers and capitalists. Their governments collect taxes to finance productive expenditure and income redistribution. The share of income redistributed defines the size of the welfare state. Although both groups benefit from an abolition of the welfare state in the long run, the optimal fiscal policy in autarky can be characterized by maintaining a large welfare state since transfer cuts would induce transitional losses. Starting in such a position of policy inertia free trade and capital mobility is introduced. Fiscal policy competition leads to a reduction of tax rates and a relative increase of productive expenditure. If both countries coordinate their fiscal policy the reduction of taxes and income transfers is less pronounced. Quantitative effects of increasing globalization are assessed in a calibrated model for an average Europe G-4 country and the United States.     

Early-stage financing and firm growth in new industries

This paper shows that active investors, such as venture capitalists, can affect the speed at which new ventures grow. In the absence of product market competition, new ventures financed by active investors grow faster initially, though in the long run those financed by passive investors are able to catch up. By contrast, in a competitive product market, new ventures financed by active investors may prey on rivals that are financed by passive investors by “strategically overinvesting” early on, resulting in long-run differences in investment, profits, and firm growth. The value of active investors is greater in highly competitive industries as well as in industries with learning curves, economies of scope, and network effects, as is typical for many “new economy” industries. For such industries, our model predicts that start-ups with access to venture capital may dominate their industry peers in the long run.     

Identification of Lead Users for Consumer Products via Virtual Stock Markets*

Newly launched products in the consumer goods and services markets show high failure rates. To reduce the failure rates, companies can integrate innovative and knowledgeable customers, the so‐called lead users, into the new product development process. However, the detection of such lead users is difficult, especially in consumer product markets with very large customer bases. A new and potentially valuable approach toward the identification of lead users involves the use of virtual stock markets, which have been proposed and applied for political and business forecasting but not for the identification of experts such as lead users. The basic concept of virtual stock markets is bringing a group of participants together via the Internet and allowing them to trade shares of virtual stocks. These stocks represent a bet on the outcome of future market situations, and their value depends on the realization of these market situations. In this process, a virtual stock market elicits and aggregates the assessments of its participants concerning future market developments. Virtual stock markets might also serve as a feasible instrument to filter out lead users, primarily for the following two reasons. First, a self‐selection effect might occur because sophisticated consumers with a higher involvement in the product of interest decide to participate in virtual stock markets. Second, a performance effect is likely to arise because well‐performing participants in virtual stock markets show a better understanding of the market than their (already self‐selected) fellow participants. So far, only limited information exists about these two effects and their relation to lead user characteristics. The goal of this paper is to analyze the feasibility of virtual stock markets for the identification of lead users. The results of this empirical study show that virtual stock markets can be an effective instrument to identify lead users in consumer products markets. Furthermore, the results show that not all lead users perform well in virtual stock markets. Hence, virtual stock markets allow identifying lead users with superior abilities to forecast market success.     

Creating jobs through public subsidies: An empirical analysis

This paper analyses the impact of government grants on labour demand using plant level data for manufacturing industry in Ireland. Our data consists of a large sample of plants and their complete grant history. We provide evidence that additional employment is created over and above the level that would have prevailed in the absence of grant payments. We also find differences in the employment response to subsidies between domestic and foreign-owned plants, with the former creating more additional jobs per euro of grant payment. Simple cost-benefit analysis reveals that a large part of the costs of grants appears to be recouped in additional wage streams under reasonable assumptions.     

From plan to market: On the nature of the transformation crisis

From Plan to Market: On the Nature of the Transformation Crisis. — Traditional neoclassical theory is ill-suited to explain why the transition from a grossly distorted to a far more rational economic system is going along with a fall in value added in Europe’s emerging market economies. Whereas Keynesian-type arguments, including the credit-crunch hypothesis, may account for some features of the exact time profile of the slump, the transformation crisis itself cannot be explained by these considerations. The paper argues that an institutional near-vacuum is a major cause of the crisis. While the old institutions for coordinating a complex pattern of economic activities are defunct, the new and ultimately far superior arrangements are not yet firmly established. The resulting institutional deficiencies, together with some inconsistencies in the time profile of the transformation process, impair an effective and reliable coordination of an extended division of labour in space and time.