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on Technology and Industrial Dynamics |
| By: | Francesco Bogliacino (European Commission, JRC-IPTS); Marco Vivarelli (Università Cattolica) |
| Abstract: | In this study we use a unique database covering 25 manufacturing and service sectors for 16 European countries over the period 1996-2005, for a total of 2,295 observations, and apply GMM-SYS panel estimations of a demand-for-labour equation augmented with technology. We find that R&D expenditures have a job-creating effect, in accordance with the previous theoretical and empirical literature discussed in the paper. Interestingly enough, the labour-friendly nature of R&D emerges in both the flow and the stock specifications. These findings provide further justification for the European Lisbon-Barcelona targets. |
| Keywords: | Technological change, corporate R&D, employment, product innovation, GMMSYS |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2010/12/doc2010-55&r=tid |
| By: | Michele Cincera (Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles); Claudio Cozza (Fondazione Formit); Alexander Tübke (JRC-IPTS); Peter Voigt (JRC-IPTS) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how corporate R&D evolves in the light of the contemporary economic crisis. We investigate what empirical evidence from past downturns suggests, discuss the relevant literature and perform an empirical analysis of recent business survey data (collected during 2009). We question whether companies tend to spend more or less on R&D and innovation activities during periods of recession and analyse empirically what general patterns can be distinguished in this regard, given the particular circumstances of the most recent crisis. Our findings suggest that company behaviour varies: some companies have reduced their innovation activities significantly, while others maintained them and a third group even increased their activities to reap the benefits in the expected upswing afterwards. Overall, we observe a deceleration of R&D and innovation activities in the light of the crisis, but the trend figures remain positive. Driven by the companies that reinforce their R&D and innovation efforts to thrive through the downturn and thus seek to gather the benefits in the upswing to come, the R&D and innovation landscape is likely to look different in the aftermath of the crisis. These changes will inevitably affect policy intervention in the field of innovation and are a unique chance for the reorientation of policy measures. More profoundly, they could be at the roots of a new paradigm, departing from a transition from an industrial to a knowledge-based society. |
| Keywords: | Corporate R&D investments, innovation activities, company strategy, economic crisis, R&D globalization |
| JEL: | F01 O33 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:wpaper:201012&r=tid |
| By: | Subal C. Kumbhakar (State University of New York at Binghamton); Raquel Ortega-Argilés (IN+ Centre for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, Instituto Superior Técnico); Lesley Potters (Utrecht School of Economics); Marco Vivarelli (Università Cattolica, Milano-Piacenza); Peter Voigt (JRC-IPTS) |
| Abstract: | The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate R&D activities on firm performance, measured by labour productivity. To this end, the stochastic frontier technique is used on a unique unbalanced longitudinal dataset on top European R&D investors over the period 2000–2005. The study quantifies technical inefficiency of individual firms. From a policy perspective, the results of this study suggest that – if the aim is to leverage firms’ productivity – emphasis should be put on supporting corporate R&D in high-tech sectors and, to some ex-tent, in medium-tech sectors. On the other hand, corporate R&D in the low-tech sector is found to have a minor effect in explaining productivity. Instead, encouraging investment in fixed assets appears important for the productivity of low-tech industries. Hence, the allocation of support for corporate R&D seems to be as important as its overall increase and an ‘erga omnes’ approach across all sectors appears inappropriate. However, with regard to technical efficiency, R&D intensity is found to be a pivotal factor in explaining firm efficiency. This is true for all industries. |
| Keywords: | Corporate R&D, productivity, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis |
| JEL: | L2 O3 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:wpaper:201011&r=tid |
| By: | Castellacci, Fulvio; Zheng, Jinghai |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the relationships between technological regimes and firm-level productivity performance, and it explores how such a relationship differs in different Schumpeterian patterns of innovation. The analysis makes use of a rich dataset containing data on innovation and other economic characteristics of a large representative sample of Norwegian firms in manufacturing and service industries for the period 1998-2004. First, we decompose TFP growth into technical progress and efficiency changes by means of data envelopment analysis. We then estimate an empirical model that relates these two productivity components to the characteristics of technological regimes and a set of other firm-specific factors. The results indicate that: (1) TFP growth has mainly been achieved through technical progress, while technical efficiency has on average decreased; (2) the characteristics of technological regimes are important determinants of firm-level productivity growth, but their impacts on technical progress are different from the effects on efficiency change; (3) the estimated model works differently in the two Schumpeterian regimes. Technical progress has been more dynamic in Schumpeter Mark II industries, while efficiency change has been more important in Schumpeter Mark I markets. |
| Keywords: | TFP growth; technical progress; technical efficiency; technological regimes; Schumpeterian patterns of innovation; CIS data |
| JEL: | L0 O1 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:27588&r=tid |
| By: | Philippe Askenazy; Thomas Breda; Delphine Irac |
| Abstract: | This paper exploits a unique panel of 59,000 French firms over 1990-2004 to investigate the interactions between R&D, advertising and the competitive environment. The empirical findings confirm the predictions of a dynamic model that complements results known in static frameworks. First, more competition pushes Neck and Neck firms to advertise more to attract a larger share of consumers on their products or services. Second, for a given competitive environment, quality leaders spend more in advertising in order to extract maximal rents; thus, lower costs of ads may favor R&D. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pse:psecon:2010-45&r=tid |
| By: | Martina Cecioni (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effect of competitive pressures on inflation dynamics. To this end it derives and estimates a New Keynesian Phillips curve in a model with endogenous firm entry. The number of active firms is inversely related to their market power. By taking into account the number of competitors, the pass-through of real marginal cost on inflation is separately identifiable from the effect of endogenous desired markup fluctuations. Estimates with US data suggest that the effect of real marginal cost on inflation is stronger than that found in the empirical test of the standard model. The estimated elasticity of the desired markup with respect to the number of firms implies that an increase of 10% in the number of active firms would lower annual inflation by 1.4% in the short run. |
| Keywords: | inflation dynamics, markups, firm entry |
| JEL: | E31 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_773_10&r=tid |
| By: | Laura Crispin; Subhra B. Saha; Bruce A. Weinberg |
| Abstract: | Older, industrial cities have suffered with the shift from manufacturing to services, but the increased importance of innovation as an economic driver may help industrial cities, which are often rich in the institutions that generate innovation. This paper studies how innovation is related to wages for different types of workers (e.g., more-educated versus less, and younger versus older) and to real estate prices for cities. We also study industrial and occupational employment shares. Our estimates indicate that innovation and aggregate education are associated with greater productivity in cities. They indicate that innovation and aggregate education impact wages less in industrial cities, but that they impact real estate prices more. We also find greater effects of innovation and aggregate education for more-educated and prime-aged workers. We pay particular attention to controlling for causality and adjustments of factor inputs. |
| Keywords: | Cities and towns ; Education - Economic aspects |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:1025&r=tid |
| By: | Corinne Autant-Bernard (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69003, France ; Université Jean Monnet ; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne, Saint-Etienne, F-42000, France); Jean-Pascal Guironnet (Université de Caen, CREM CNRS 6211); Nadine Massard (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69003, France ; Université Jean Monnet ; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne, Saint-Etienne, F-42000, France) |
| Abstract: | Using a sample of 46 000 EU firms from the Community Innovation Survey, this paper analyses the drivers of innovation adoption. In contrast to most empirical studies on innovation diffusion in which a specific technology is analyzed, this study covers several countries and industries in the European Union. Following Van de Ven and Van Praag (1981), Heckman’s method is applied in a context of binary endogenous variable to explain the choices made by firms regarding innovation. Distinctions are made between the internal generation of innovation and the adoption of innovation produced by others, as well as between different types of adoption (product vs. process and cooperation-based adoption vs. isolated adoption). The study is focused on the impact of users’ features and their cooperation with suppliers on the adoption choices. The results point out that cooperation is a key driver of adoption choices. Usual determinants such as firm size, absorptive capability or exports would foster generation of innovation instead of adoption. |
| Keywords: | Innovation adoption, Innovation diffusion, Community Innovation Survey, Process adoption, Product adoption |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1034&r=tid |
| By: | Alex Coad; Mercedes Teruel |
| Abstract: | Inter-firm competition has received much attention in the theoretical literature, but recent empirical work suggests that the growth rates of rival firms are uncorrelated, and that firm growth can be taken as an essentially independent process. We begin by investigating the correlations of the growth rates of competing firms (i.e. the largest and second-largest firms in the same industry) and observe that, surprisingly, the growth of these firms can be taken as independent. Nevertheless, peer-effect regressions, that take into account the simultaneous interdependence of growth rates of rival firms, are able to identify significant negative effects of rivals' growth on a firm's growth. |
| Keywords: | Competition, Firm growth, Peer effects econometrics Length 32 pages |
| JEL: | L25 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esi:evopap:2010-18&r=tid |