nep-ino New Economics Papers
on Innovation
Issue of 2018‒01‒01
eighteen papers chosen by
Uwe Cantner
University of Jena

  1. Business angels: Crucial elements of the European financial ecosystem By Pellens, Maikel; Licht, Georg
  2. Longevity-induced vertical innovation and the tradeoff between life and growth By Baldanzi, Annarita; Prettner, Klaus; Tscheuschner, Paul
  3. Between spilling over and boiling down: network-mediated spillovers, absorptive capacity and productivity in European regions By Nicola Cortinovis; Frank van Oort
  4. The role of research and ownership collaboration in generating patent quality: China-U.S comparisons By Gary H. Jefferson; Renai Jiang; Lintong Li; Sam Zucker
  5. Patent licensing in the presence of a differentiated good By Jiyun Cao; Uday Bhanu Sinha
  6. THE EMPLOYMENT IMPACT OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ACTIONS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY: EVIDENCE FROM EUROPEAN INDUSTRIES By Valeria Costantini; Francesco Crespi; Elena Paglialunga
  7. Human Capital, Firm Capabilities, and Innovation By Ajay Bhaskarbhatla; Deepak Hegde; Thomas (T.L.P.R.) Peeters
  8. Technological change, energy, environment and economic growth in Japan By Galina Besstremyannaya; Richard Dasher; Sergei Golovan
  9. Declining Labor Share and Innovation By Georges Vivien Houngbonon; Pascal Da-Costa
  10. Innovation and Productivity in the service sector of emerging and developing countries By Regis, Paulo José; Desmarchelier, Benoît
  11. Governing innovation projects in firms: The role of competition between innovation projects and interdepartmental collaboration By Iferd, Younes; Schubert, Torben
  12. Knowledge bases, innovation and multi-scalar relationships - Which kind of territorial boundedness of industrial clusters? By Tödtling, Franz; Auer, Alexander
  13. R&D policy regimes in France: New evidence from spatio-temporal analysis By Montmartin, B.; Herrera, M.; Massard, N.
  14. Upstream, Downstream: Diffusion and Impacts of the Universal Product Code By Emek Basker; Tim Simcoe
  15. Trademarks as an indicator of innovation: towards a fuller picture By Leonardo Costa Ribeiro; Ulisses dos Santos; Valbona Muzaka
  16. Corruption and Economic Development By Sule Akkoyunlu; Debora Ramella
  17. The cyclicality of R&D investment revisited By Hans van Ophem; Noud P.A. van Giersbergen; Kees Jan van Garderen; Maurice J.G. Bun
  18. Does Import Competition Induce R&D Reallocation? Evidence from the U.S. By Rui Xu; Kaiji Gong

  1. By: Pellens, Maikel; Licht, Georg
    Abstract: Europe faces a conundrum. Despite high levels of research investment and leading the market in many industries, disruptive and radical innovation typically does not come from European startups. One of the reasons for this is financial constraints: most innovative European start-ups do not manage to attract institutional funders or venture capitalists to invest in their growth, and hence do not fulfill their growth potential. Business angels, individual investors who support early-stage firms with capital and experience, are believed to be able to fill this gap in the funding landscape and thus help boost European innovation. However, relatively little is known about business angel activities in Europe. In this policy brief, we summarize recent research conducted at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), highlight trends in the German and European business angel markets, and discuss implications for the design of policies aimed at fostering the development of markets for business angel investment.
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewpbs:52017&r=ino
  2. By: Baldanzi, Annarita; Prettner, Klaus; Tscheuschner, Paul
    Abstract: We analyze the economic growth effects of rising longevity in a framework of endogenous growth driven by quality-improving innovations. We show that a rise in longevity raises savings and thereby reduces the market interest rate. Since the monopoly profits generated by a successful innovation are discounted by the endogenous market interest rate, this raises the net present value of innovations, which, in turn, fosters R&D. The associated increase in the employment of scientists leads to faster technological progress and a higher long-run economic growth rate. From a welfare perspective, we show that the direct effect of an increase in life expectancy on lifetime utility is much larger than the indirect effect of the induced higher consumption due to faster economic growth. Consequently, the debate on rising health care expenditures should not predominantly be based on the growth effects of health care.
    Keywords: long-run growth,vertical innovation,increasing life expectancy,welfare effects of changing longevity,size of health-care sectors
    JEL: J11 J17 O31 O41
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:312017&r=ino
  3. By: Nicola Cortinovis (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Frank van Oort (ESE EUR, IHS EUR, Utrecht University)
    Abstract: Productivity across European regions is related to three types of networks that mediate R&D-related knowledge spillovers: trade, co-patenting and geographical proximity. Both our panel and instrumental variable estimations for European regions suggest that network relations are crucial sources of R&D spillovers, but with potentially different features. While co-patenting relations appear to affect local productivity directly, regions that link up to innovative leader regions via imports gain in productivity only when they have relatively high levels of human capital and absorptive capacity. From a policy perspective, this may frustrate recent European policy initiatives, such as Smart Specialization, that are designed to benefit all regions in Europe.
    Keywords: productivity; economic networks; regions; Europe; trade; knowledge
    JEL: R11 R12 O33 O47
    Date: 2017–12–15
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20170118&r=ino
  4. By: Gary H. Jefferson (Brandeis University); Renai Jiang (Xi'an Jiaotong University); Lintong Li (Princeton University); Sam Zucker (Brandeis University)
    Abstract: This paper uses patent data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to investigate the implications of inventor collaboration and joint assignee ownership, both domestic and international, on patent quality as measured by the number of claims and citations associated with a patent. Specifically, we compare the quality implications of research collaboration and joint ownership for the quality of U.S. and Chinese patents. Overall, we find that domestic inventor collaboration yields higher quality results for U.S. patents than Chinese patents. However, for China, international collaboration, both for inventors and assignee ownership is associated with higher quality outcomes for Chinese patents than for U.S. patents. We also find that the incidence of inventors sharing assignee ownership is significantly higher in China. We hypothesize that this difference reflects a need in China to extend patent ownership to inventors for the purpose of recruiting and incentivizing a relatively limited supply of high-quality researchers, whereas in the U.S. the abundance of such researchers is retained largely through wage and bonus compensation.
    Date: 2017–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:brd:wpaper:117&r=ino
  5. By: Jiyun Cao (The School of Economics, Nankai University and Collaborative Innovation Center for China Economy, Tianjin, China); Uday Bhanu Sinha (Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics)
    Abstract: The existing literature has considered licensing of a patented innovation either in a homogenous good industry or in a differentiated goods industry. We consider the licensing problem between two firms i.e., licensor and licensee producing the homogenous goods when there is a third firm producing a differentiated good in the market. We find that when the costs of non-innovators are not high, the optimal licensing contract depends on the degree of product differentiation and the innovator has more incentive for innovation when it is an insider than when it is an outsider of this market.
    Keywords: licensing, two-part tariff, Cournot oligopoly, homogenous and differentiated goods, incentive for innovation.
    JEL: D43 D45 L13
    Date: 2017–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cde:cdewps:282&r=ino
  6. By: Valeria Costantini; Francesco Crespi; Elena Paglialunga
    Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of private and public actions for energy efficiency on EU employment dynamics, relying on an econometric analysis on a sector-based panel dataset for 15 EU countries (1995-2009). Results show that after accounting for the sectoral output growth, investment and innovation activities, sectoral energy efficiency gains display a negative effect on employment growth, especially in energy intensive industries. Conversely, public actions towards energy efficiency may produce positive effects on employment dynamics. Indeed, the higher incidence of taxation on energy costs, the energy efficiency gains realized in the public sector industries and the implementation of a comprehensive policy mix at the country level, are factors positively influencing employment growth. This evidence highlights the complexity of the nexus between energy efficiency and employment dynamics, suggesting that superior employment performances can be achieved when complementarity effects between productivity enhancing activities and energy efficiency actions are realized.
    Keywords: Energy Efficiency, Public Policies, Employment, Manufacturing Sectors, Eco- Innovation, European Union
    JEL: C23 L60 O33 Q52
    Date: 2017–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0227&r=ino
  7. By: Ajay Bhaskarbhatla (Erasmus School of Economics, ERIM); Deepak Hegde (New York University); Thomas (T.L.P.R.) Peeters (Erasmus School of Economics, ERIM; Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands)
    Abstract: Are differences in inventor productivity due to differences in inventors’ skills or differences in the capabilities of the firms they work for? We analyze a 37-year panel that tracks the patenting of U.S. inventors and find strong evidence for serial correlation in inventors’ productivity. We apply an econometric technique developed by Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (1999) to decompose the contributions of inventors’ human capital and firm capabilities for productivity. Our estimates suggest human capital is 4-5 times more important than firm capabilities for explaining the variance in inventor productivity. High human capital inventors work for firms that have (i) other high human capital inventors, (ii) superior financial performance, and (iii) weak firm-specific invention capabilities. On the margins, managers should emphasize selecting talent rather than training workers to enhance innovation performance.
    Keywords: Human Capital; Capabilities; Innovation; Matching; Competitive Advantage
    JEL: O30 O31 O32 J24
    Date: 2017–12–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20170115&r=ino
  8. By: Galina Besstremyannaya (CEFIR at New Economic School); Richard Dasher (Stanford University); Sergei Golovan (New Economic School)
    Abstract: A considerable amount of research has shown that that carbon tax combined with research subsidy may be regarded as an optimal policy in view of diffusing low carbon technologies for the benefit of the society. The paper exploits the macro economic approach of the endogenous growth models with technological change for a comparative assessment of these policy measures on the economic growth in the US and Japan in the medium and the long run. The results of our micro estimates reveal several important differences across the Japanese and US energy firms: lower elasticity of innovation production function in R&D expenditure, lower probability of a radical innovation, and larger advances of dirty technologies in Japan. This may explain our quantitative findings of stronger reliance on carbon tax than on research subsidies in Japan relative to the US.
    Keywords: endogenous growth, technological change, innovation, carbon tax, energy
    JEL: O11 O13 O47 Q43 Q49
    Date: 2017–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfr:cefirw:w0245&r=ino
  9. By: Georges Vivien Houngbonon (LGI - Laboratoire de Genie Industriel - CentraleSupélec); Pascal Da-Costa (LGI - Laboratoire Génie Industriel - EA 2606 - CentraleSupélec)
    Abstract: In this paper, we document declining labor share using a sample of international companies from developed economies. While this trend makes internal funds available for financing innovation, we find that R&D expenditures fall alike. Firm-level fixed effects estimation , controlling for the intensity of competition and financial constraints, confirms a positive correlation between labor share and R&D expenditures. A counterfactual analysis shows that a percentage point fall in labor share reduces output growth by 0.01 percentage point in the short run, and up to 0.02 percentage point in the long run, due to declining innovation.
    Keywords: Innovation,Labor share
    Date: 2017–12–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01653816&r=ino
  10. By: Regis, Paulo José (Division of Economics, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University); Desmarchelier, Benoît (Lille 1 University)
    Abstract: This paper conducts a large cross-country study of innovation decisions and its effect on the productivity of the firms in the service sectors in developing countries. A structural model relating innovation and productivity is fitted with data from 97 emerging and developing countries. We find that R&D generates gains in labor productivity as well as in terms of an aggregate measure of capital and total factor productivity. However, the introduction of new products does not seem to have relevant impact on productivity measures. From a policy perspective, we find that tax burden and difficulties to access credit are significant obstacles to innovation in services. Considering the positive relationship between service innovation and productivity, these obstacles should be on top of policy agenda in the countries under study. Finally, competition from the international market and from the informal sector are both fostering innovation in services.
    Keywords: innovation, productivity, services sector, developing countries
    JEL: L80 O31 O33 C34 O14
    Date: 2018–01–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xjt:rieiwp:2018-01&r=ino
  11. By: Iferd, Younes; Schubert, Torben
    Abstract: The existing literature shows that interdepartmental collaboration within companies en-hances innovativeness due to easier access to and integration of knowledge spread over dispersed actors. As companies are well aware of these benefits they also use competi-tion between innovation projects to organize their innovation projects. Such competitive mechanisms have often been regarded as problematic because of their adverse effects on collaboration and knowledge sharing. At the same time, they have the power to expe-dite innovation processes. Based on German CIS data, we use a stochastic frontier ap-proach to show that competition across innovation projects tends to increase innovation efficiency for firms faced by predatory product market competition, while interdepartmental collaboration is efficiency increasing when competition is low. Furthermore, we were also able to show that with increasing innovation radicalness interdepartmental collaboration enhances the innovation process and that with increasing innovation incrementality com-petition across innovation projects becomes beneficial.
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:56&r=ino
  12. By: Tödtling, Franz; Auer, Alexander
    Abstract: Innovation is nowadays a highly interdependent process where firms rely on distributed knowledge sources at various spatial scales. It has been argued that innovation interactions are shifting increasingly from local/regional towards global scales and that the region as a space for supporting innovation and competitiveness of firms is losing in importance. We suggest, however, that firms and clusters rely on various kinds of knowledge bases and factors for their development that differ in their geographical mobility and territorial boundedness. Whereas codified knowledge as well as many kinds of goods and services, investment capital, and people have become mobile at a global scale due to improvements of transport- and communication technologies and a lowering of trade barriers, we find other factors that are still territorially bound, such as tacit knowledge that is exchanged in local and social networks, and certain kinds institutions and regulations that are territorially confined. We investigate therefore for different types of industries to what extent and which kind of driving factors for cluster development and innovation have become non-local or footlose, or remain territorially bound to regions or countries. This also has relevance for regional and innovation policies that try to enhance the competitiveness of clusters and regional economies.
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus009:5937&r=ino
  13. By: Montmartin, B.; Herrera, M.; Massard, N.
    Abstract: Using a unique database containing information on the amount of R&D tax credits and regional, national and European subsidies received by firms in French NUTS3 regions over the period 2001-2011, we provide new evidence on the efficiency of R&D policies taking into account spatial dependency across regions. By estimating a spatial Durbin model with regimes and fixed effects, we show that in a context of yardstick competition between regions, national subsidies are the only instrument that displays total leverage effect. For other instruments internal and external effects balance each other resulting in insignificant total effects. Structural breaks corresponding to tax credit reforms are also revealed.
    Keywords: ADDITIONALITY;FRENCH POLICY MIX;R&D INVESTMENT;SPATIAL PANEL;STRUCTURAL BREAK
    JEL: H25 O31 O38
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:2017-06&r=ino
  14. By: Emek Basker; Tim Simcoe
    Abstract: This paper matches archival data from the Uniform Code Council to establishments in the Longitudinal Business Database and Economic Census to study the diffusion and impacts of the Universal Product Code (UPC). We find evidence of network effects in the difusion process. Matched-sample difference in-difference estimates show that employment and trademark registrations increase following UPC adoption by manufacturers or wholesalers. Industry-level imports also increase with domestic UPC adoption. Our findings suggest that barcodes, scanning and related technologies helped stimulate variety-enhancing product innovation and encourage the growth of international retail supply chains.
    Keywords: Universal Product Code, Barcode, Supply Chain, Network Effects, Trademarks
    JEL: O33 L11 L60 L81
    Date: 2017–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:17-66&r=ino
  15. By: Leonardo Costa Ribeiro (Instituto Nacional de Metrologia Qualidade e Tecnologia); Ulisses dos Santos (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais); Valbona Muzaka (King’s College London)
    Abstract: Encouraged by the emergence of a new but still rather modest literature on the use of trademark data as a complementary indicator of innovation, this paper strengthen the case for such use by offering both qualitative and quantitative evidence in its support. Based on large trademark and patent databases built for this purpose, the paper makes the argument that changes in the economic profile of advanced economies, as well as changes in the global economy more broadly, necessitate the use of trademark data in order to gain a better understanding of innovation across all sectors of the economy.
    Keywords: Trademarks, Innovation, Non-Technological Innovation
    JEL: O31 O33
    Date: 2017–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td571&r=ino
  16. By: Sule Akkoyunlu (İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, ODTU, Turkey; The Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis; Department of Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada); Debora Ramella (Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy)
    Abstract: This study investigates the impact of openness to trade and corruption on economic development for a cross-section of 143 countries for the year 2000 by analysing the effects of trade openness and corruption on income, productivity, innovation, and income inequality. Institutional, cultural and geographical factors, and country size are controlled for in the analysis. An instrumental variable approach has been adopted in order to address the endogeneity of corruption and openness to trade. The age of democracy and gravity-based predictors are chosen as the instruments for corruption and openness to trade, respectively. The estimates show that corruption negatively affects income per capita, productivity, and innovation, while it does not significantly impact income inequality (Gini). The control of corruption and the openness to trade affect output per worker through the total factor productivity. Both the control of corruption and openness to trade are statistically significant determinants of the 90/10 income gap. Landlockedness affects Gini Index directly, even after controlling for trade and corruption. These findings have important policy implications. For example, on the basis of the estimates, if Botswana improved its control of corruption to reach the level of Finland, its per capita income would rise by 2.7 times.
    Keywords: Trade, Corruption, Economic Development, Productivity, Innovation and Inequality
    JEL: D73 F00 F10 O11 O40
    Date: 2017–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:17-29&r=ino
  17. By: Hans van Ophem (University of Amsterdam); Noud P.A. van Giersbergen; Kees Jan van Garderen; Maurice J.G. Bun
    Abstract: In Fabrizio and Tsolmon (2014) and Barlevy (2007) it is concluded that R&D investments are procyclical. Fabrizio and Tsolmon (2014) utilize a model based on Barlevy (2007), but differs in some respects and allows for more heterogeneity. However, we doubt whether their implied trends are intended. Fabrizio and Tsolman also set missing values for R&D equal to zero leading to unrealistic jumps in investment and its first differences. We reconcile and replicate both the Fabrizio and Tsolmon and Barlevy papers by considering extensions that encompass both models. Furthermore, we treat missing values more appropriately to check robustness of the results. Procyclicality is confirmed, but we find much less heterogeneity than Fabrizio and Tsolmon (2014) do. In particular obsolescence and patent effectiveness are no longer important but external financing is.
    Date: 2017–12–21
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ame:wpaper:1701&r=ino
  18. By: Rui Xu; Kaiji Gong
    Abstract: We analyze the impact of rising import competition from China on U.S. innovative activities. Using Compustat data, we find that import competition induces R&D expenditures to be reallocated towards more productive and more profitable firms within each industry. Such reallocation effect has the potential to offset the average drop in firm-level R&D identified in the previous literature. Indeed, our quantitative analysis shows no adverse impact of import competition on aggregate R&D expenditures. Taking the analysis beyond manufacturing, we find that import competition has led to reallocation of researchers towards booming service industries, including business and repairs, personal services, and financial services.
    Keywords: Western Hemisphere;Asia and Pacific;United States;Chinese Import Competition, R&D Expenditures, Reallocation, R&D Expenditures, Country and Industry Studies of Trade, Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    Date: 2017–11–16
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:17/253&r=ino

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