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on Technology and Industrial Dynamics |
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Issue of 2014‒05‒17
twelve papers chosen by Fulvio Castellacci Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) |
| By: | Daron Acemoglu |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits the important ideas proposed by Atkinson and Stiglitz’s seminal 1969 paper on technological change. After linking these ideas to the induced innovation literature of the 1960s and the more recent directed technological change literature, it explains how these three complementary but different approaches are useful in the study of a range of current research areas though they may also yield different answers to important questions. It concludes by highlighting several important areas where these ideas can be fruitfully applied in future work. |
| JEL: | E25 J31 O30 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20060&r=tid |
| By: | Professor Bronwyn Hall |
| Abstract: | � Abstract A surprisingly small number of innovative firms use the patent system. In the UK, the share of firms patenting among those reporting that they have innovated is about 4%. Survey data from the same firms support the idea that they do not consider patents or other forms of registered IP as important as informal IP for protecting inventions. We show that there are a number of explanations for these findings: most firms are SMEs, many innovations are new to the firm, but not to the market, and many sectors are not patent active. We find evidence pointing to a positive association between patenting and innovative performance measured as turnover due to innovation, but not between patenting and subsequent employment growth. The analysis relies on a new integrated dataset for the UK that combines a range of data sources into a panel at the enterprise level. |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsr:niesrd:11449&r=tid |
| By: | MORIKAWA Masayuki |
| Abstract: | This paper, using Japanese firm-level data, presents findings about innovative activities in the service sector and the role of patents and trade secrets on innovations. According to the analysis, first, service firms have less product innovations than do manufacturing firms, but the productivity of innovative service firms is very high. Second, service firms have a low propensity of holding patents, but the holding of trade secrets is comparable to that of the manufacturing firms. Third, patents and trade secrets have positive relationships with product innovations, and the effects are quantitatively similar in magnitude both in the manufacturing and the service sectors. On the other hand, a positive relationship between trade secrets and process innovations is found only in the manufacturing sector. These results suggest a pivotal role of the patent system and trade secret law on innovation and productivity growth of the service sector. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:14024&r=tid |
| By: | Peters, Bettina; Riley, Rebecca; Siedschlag, Iulia; Vahter, Priit; McQuinn, John |
| Abstract: | We examine the links between innovation investment, innovation output and productivity in service enterprises. For this purpose, we use micro data from the Community Innovation Surveys 2006-2008 in Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom and estimate an augmented structural model which links innovation inputs, innovation outputs and productivity. Our estimates suggest that innovation in service enterprises was linked to higher productivity. In all three countries analysed, amongst the innovation types that we consider, the strongest link between innovation and productivity was found for marketing innovations. Successful innovation in service enterprises appears to be associated with enterprise size, innovation expenditure intensity (in Germany and the United Kingdom), foreign ownership (Ireland), exporting and engagement in co-operation for innovation activities. The determinants of innovation in service enterprises appear remarkably similar to the determinants of innovation in manufacturing enterprises. |
| Keywords: | Internationalisation of services; innovation; productivity |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp480&r=tid |
| By: | Pilar Beneito (University of Valencia and ERI-CES); María Engracia Rochina-Barrachina (University of Valencia); Amparo Sanchis (University of Valencia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate the pattern of R&D efficiency in terms of the number of product innovations achieved by firms over time. Embodied in the R&D capital stock, we distinguish among physical R&D capital and human R&D capital, and allow the latter to be subject to dynamic returns along firms’ R&D histories. We assume that firms’ innovation outcomes depend on the length of the period of time they have been investing in R&D and explore whether the interruption in this temporal sequence of engagement in R&D affects the rate of achievement of innovation outcomes. For this purpose, we estimate an innovation production function using a panel dataset of Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990-2006. Our results suggest that R&D activities exhibit dynamic returns that are increasing but at a decreasing rate, possibly due to exhaustion of innovation opportunities. In addition, our findings indicate that interruptions of R&D activities reduce R&D efficiency, probably due to organizational forgetting. However, spillover effects seem to exist between firms’ R&D spells since firms resuming R&D activities achieve innovation success rates above the innovation rates of their initial years of R&D activities. |
| Keywords: | R&D, dynamic returns, interruptions, product innovation, count data |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:1403&r=tid |
| By: | A. Minniti; F. Venturini |
| Abstract: | In recent years, a large body of empirical research has investigated whether the predictions of secondgeneration growth models are consistent with actual data. This strand of literature has focused on the longrun properties of these models by using productivity and innovation data but has not directly assessed the effectiveness of R&D policy in promoting innovation and economic growth. In the present paper, we fill this gap in the literature by providing a unified growth setting that is empirically tested with US manufacturing industry data. Our analysis shows that R&D policy has a persistent, if not permanent, impact on the rate of economic growth and that the economy rapidly adjusts to policy changes. The impact of R&D tax credits on economic growth appears to be long lasting and statistically robust. Conversely, more generous R&D subsidies are associated with an increase in the rate of economic growth in the short run only, indicating that, at best, this policy instrument has only temporary effects. Overall, the evidence regarding the effectiveness of R&D policy provides more support for fully endogenous growth theory than for semi-endogenous growth theory. |
| JEL: | O3 O38 O4 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp945&r=tid |
| By: | Henningsen, Morten S. (Finance Norway); Hægeland, Torbjørn (Statistics Norway); Møen, Jarle (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Empirical examination of whether R&D subsidies crowd out private investments has been hampered by selection problems. A particular worry is that project quality and research intentions may be correlated with the likelihood of receiving subsidies. Using proposal evaluation data to control for research intentions, we do not find strong evidence suggesting that this type of selection creates a severe bias. Proposal evaluation grades strongly predict R&D investments and reduce selection bias in cross-sectional regressions, but there is limited variation in grades within firms over time. Hence, in our sample, unobserved project quality is largely absorbed by firm fixed effects. Our best estimate of the shortrun additionality of R&D subsidies is 1.15, i.e., a oneunit increase in subsidy increases total R&D expenditure in the recipient firm by somewhat more than a unit. We demonstrate, however, that there is measurement error in the subsidy variable. Additionality is therefore likely to be underestimated. |
| Keywords: | Technology policy; R&D subsidies; input additionality; selection; proxy variables |
| JEL: | H25 H32 L53 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2014–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2014_018&r=tid |
| By: | Joelle Noailly; Victoria Shestalova (The Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the knowledge spillovers generated by renewable energy technologies, unraveling the technological fields that benefit from knowledge developed in storage, solar, wind, marine, hydropower, geothermal, waste and biomass energy technologies. Using citation data of patents in renewable technologies at 17 European countries over the 1978-2006 period, the analysis examines the relative importance of knowledge flows within the same specific technological field (intra-technology spillovers), to other technologies in the field of power-generation (inter-technology spillovers), and to technologies unrelated to power-generation (external-technology spillovers). The results show significant differences across various renewable technologies. While wind technologies mainly find applications within their own technological field, a large share of innovations in solar energy and storage technologies find applications outside the field of power generation, suggesting that solar technologies are more general and, therefore, may have a higher value for society. Finally, the knowledge from waste and biomass technologies is mainly exploited by fossil-fuel power-generating technologies. The paper discusses the implications of these results for the design of R&D policies for renewable energy innovation. |
| Keywords: | Renewable energy, innovation, patents, knowledge spillovers, technology policy. |
| Date: | 2013–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:ciesrp:cies_rp_22&r=tid |
| By: | Stuart McDonald (School of Economics, The Universty of Queensland, Australia); Joanna Poyago-Theotoky (School of Economics, La Trobe University, Australia; Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis (RCEA), Italy) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of an optimal emissions tax on research and development of emission reducing green technology (E-R&D) in the presence of R&D spillovers. We show that the size and eectiveness of the optimal emissions tax depends on the type of the R&D spillover: input or output spillover. In the case of R&D input spillovers (where only knowledge spillovers are accounted for), the optimal emissions tax required to stimulate R&D is always higher than when there is an R&D output spillover (where abatement and knowledge spillovers exist simultaneously). We also nd that optimal emissions taxation and cooperative R&D complement each other when R&D spillovers are small, leading to lower emissions. |
| Keywords: | Environmental R&D, Green Technology, R&D Spillover, Emissions Tax |
| JEL: | H23 L11 Q55 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:07_14&r=tid |
| By: | ZHANG Hong-yong |
| Abstract: | This study empirically analyzes the effect of agglomeration economies on firm-level product innovation (new products), using Chinese firm-level data from 1998 to 2007. In terms of new product introduction and new product output, Chinese firms benefit from urbanization economies (as measured by the number of workers in other industries in the same city and by the diversity of industries in the same city). Conversely, there were no positive effects of localization economies (as measured by the number of other workers working for neighboring firms in the same industry and in the same city). These results suggest that, in China, urbanization economies play an important role in fostering product innovation by urban size and diversity. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:14022&r=tid |
| By: | Francesco Venturini; Ana Rincon-Aznar; Dr Michela Vecchi |
| Abstract: | We analyse the impact of ICT spillovers on productivity using company data for the U.S. We account for inter- and intra-industry spillovers and assess the role played by firm’s absorptive capacity. Our results show that intra-industry ICT spillovers have a contemporaneous negative effect that turns positive 5 years after the initial investment. For inter-industry spillovers both contemporaneous and lagged effects are positive and significant. In the short run, companies’ innovative effort is complementary to ICT spillovers, but such complementarity disappears with the more pervasive adoption and diffusion of the technology. |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsr:niesrd:11717&r=tid |
| By: | Nicholas Bloom; Renata Lemos; Raffaella Sadun; Daniela Scur; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | Over the last decade the World Management Survey (WMS) has collected firm-level management practices data across multiple sectors and countries. We developed the survey to try to explain the large and persistent TFP differences across firms and countries. This review paper discusses what has been learned empirically and theoretically from the WMS and other recent work on management practices. Our preliminary results suggest that about a quarter of cross-country and within-country TFP gaps can be accounted for by management practices. Management seems to matter both qualitatively and quantitatively. Competition, governance, human capital and informational frictions help account for the variation in management. |
| JEL: | E23 M1 M11 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20102&r=tid |