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on Technology and Industrial Dynamics |
| By: | Bronwyn H. Hall; Christian Helmers; Georg von Graevenitz |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effect of patent thickets on entry into technology areas by firms in the UK. We present a model that describes incentives to enter technology areas characterized by varying technological opportunity, complexity of technology, and the potential for hold-up in patent thickets. We show empirically that our measure of patent thickets is associated with a reduction of first time patenting in a given technology area controlling for the level of technological complexity and opportunity. Technological areas characterized by more technological complexity and opportunity, in contrast, see more entry. Our evidence indicates that patent thickets raise entry costs, which leads to less entry into technologies regardless of a firm’s size. |
| JEL: | K11 L20 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21455&r=all |
| By: | Montmartin, B.; Herrera, M.; Massard, N. |
| Abstract: | The French policy-mix for R&D and innovation has deeply evolved in recent years and is nowadays, one of the most generous and market-friendly system in the world. This paper investigates the (evolutive) effects of this policy-mix by using a unique database containing information on the amount of R&D tax credit, regional, national and European subsidies received by firms in all French metropolitan NUTS3 regions over the period 2001-2011. By estimating a Spatial Durbin model with regimes and fixed effects, we provide new evidence on the efficiency of the French policy-mix. First, a yardstick competition between NUTS3 regions for R&D investment driven by negative spatial spillovers is found. Second, it seems that national subsidies are the only instrument able to generate a significant leverage effect on privately-financed R&D. Third, due to the context of spatial competition, the three other policies studied (Tax Credit, Regional and European subsidies) do not generate significant leverage or crowding-out effect. Fourth, we highlight the presence of structural breaks in our data that correspond to the last two important reforms of the French tax credit. Consequently, the effect of R&D policies and especially R&D tax credit are likely to change over time and influence ex-post evaluation results. |
| Keywords: | ADDITIONALITY;FRENCH POLICY-MIX;PRIVATE R&D INVESTMENT;SPATIAL PANEL |
| JEL: | H25 O31 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:2015-11&r=all |
| By: | Koski, Heli |
| Abstract: | Data comprising 1790 Finnish firms and covering the years 2006-2012 suggest that turnover from innovative sales per employee were higher for both young firms - particularly for young innovative companies (or YICs) - and older incumbents that had broad innovation collaboration involving vertical, horizontal and institutional partners. Younger firms with simultaneous horizontal and vertical innovation collaboration tend to also generate higher turnover due new products and services, while this type of collaboration did not appear statistically significant in innovation production function for older incumbents. Our data further indicate that not only the relationship between inventor age and patentable inventions at the inventor level is inversely u-shaped – as previous studies report - but also the relationship between employee age structure and the generation of commercially successful products and services at the firm level follows the same pattern. High education of employees distinguished particularly the top performers from others at the highest 0.9 quantile of turnover from innovative sales per employee. Furthermore, firms with relatively highly educated employees and broad innovation collaboration had clearly higher returns from innovative sales per employee than other firms, while none of the innovation collaboration types was statistically significantly related to the innovation output of firms with relatively low education of employees. |
| Keywords: | innovation performance, R&D cooperation, human capital |
| JEL: | L2 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2015–08–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:30&r=all |
| By: | V. DORTET-BERNADET (Insee); M. SICSIC (Insee) |
| Abstract: | Between 2003 and 2010, total R&D public support (tax incentives and subsidies) targeted at SMEs increased by more than 300%: in 2010 it amounted to almost 2 billion euros, of which 26% (nearly 500 million euros) were perceived by very small businesses (fewer than 10 employees). This sharp increase is mainly explained by two reforms of the R&D tax credit (in 2004 and 2008) and a new public program dedicated to young innovative enterprises launched in 2004. An aggregate analysis shows that the share of R&D personnel financed by public funding has been multiplied by four for very small businesses, from 14% in 2003 to 49% in 2010. This change was accompanied by a decline of privately funded R&D personnel employed by very small businesses (and other SMEs to a lesser extent). An econometric analysis of a panel of small firms active in R&D intensive sectors tends to confirm this agregate finding at the firm level: R&D public support appears to have a positive impact on highly qualified and R&D employment but the impact on the associated labor costs appears to be significantly lower than the increase of the public financing, particularly from 2008. |
| Keywords: | R&D tax credit, subsidies, public policy evaluation, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | O38 H25 C23 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crs:wpdeee:g2015-11&r=all |
| By: | Andrew B. BERNARD; OKUBO Toshihiro |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of product adding and dropping within manufacturing firms over the business cycle. While a substantial body of work has explored the importance of the extensive margins of firm entry and exit in employment and output flows, only recently has research begun to examine the adjustment across products within firms and its importance for firm and aggregate output and employment flows. Using a novel, annual firm-product data set covering all Japanese manufacturing firms with more than four employees from 1992 to 2006, we provide the first evidence on annual changes in product adding and dropping by continuing firms over the business cycle. We find very high rates of product adding and dropping by continuing firms between the last year of the recession and the first year of the subsequent expansion and offer an explanation and supporting evidence based on a "trapped factors" model of firm behavior. |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:15103&r=all |
| By: | Edquist , Charles (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | The purpose in this paper is to show how public procurement can be a driver of innovation. The purpose and point of departure when using public procurement as an instrument of innovation policy is always to solve societal and environmental problems, to satisfy human needs or to meet global challenges. The paper is aimed at everyone who is involved or interested in public procurement, and especially in how this can promote innovation processes. Historically innovation policy has been strongly dominated by supply-push oriented instruments (measures). This linear view is actually still dominating in practical innovation policy pursued, but no longer so much in policy analysis – and certainly not among innovation researchers. In other words, the linear view is completely rejected in innovation research, but still dominates innovation policy. Innovation policy is all actions by public organizations that influence innovation processes. The choice of innovation policy instruments is a very important part of the formulation of an innovation policy. There are potentially scores, or perhaps hundreds, of innovation policy instruments to choose from. A combination of two or more instruments must often be used to solve each specific problem. They are thus combined into an “instrument mix”. Demand-based innovation policy instruments are those that influence innovation processes from the demand side. In this paper, we will very much concentrate on one kind of demand-side innovation policy instrument: innovation-related public procurement. The reason for choosing innovation-related public procurement in particular, is that it is potentially by far the most powerful kind of demand-side innovation policy instrument available. It might even potentially be the most powerful instrument among all innovation policy instruments. Public procurement of different types may affect both the speed and path of innovation development. |
| Keywords: | Innovation policy; innovation system; demand-side innovation policy; innovation policy instruments |
| JEL: | O25 O30 O31 O32 O33 O38 O49 |
| Date: | 2015–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2015_028&r=all |
| By: | Plechero, Monica (DEAMS – University of Trieste, Italy & CIRCLE, Lund University); Chaminade , Cristina (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Recently, there has been a rise of contributions in innovation and economic geography studies on how firms from specific industries and regional innovation systems (RISs) rely on international networks to innovate. So far, the focus has been on single cases, firms located in well-known RISs and international linkages, without really distinguishing those with geographically close partners from those with partners from distant locations. Using primary firm-level data, this article compares the patterns of collaboration for innovation in a selection of Swedish, Norwegian, Chinese and Indian regions with an ICT cluster specialization. The results show that firms in RISs in emerging economies tend to link more to innovation networks with a real global character, particularly in relation to new-to-the-world innovation. It also shows that firms in the most successful RISs in ICT clusters rely more than others on networks with organizations in close proximity. |
| Keywords: | Globalization; innovation networks; developed economies; emerging economies; China; India; Sweden; Norway; regional innovation system; cluster specialization; ICT; new-to-the-world innovation |
| JEL: | O18 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2015_029&r=all |