The Impact of R&D Subsidy on Innovation: a Study of New Zealand Firms / Adam B. Jaffe, Trinh Le.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jaffe, Adam B.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Le, Trinh.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w21479.

NBER working paper series no. w21479

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Impact of R&D Subsidy on Innovation

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2015.

Summary:

This paper examines the impact of government assistance through R&D grants on innovation output for firms in New Zealand. Using a large database that links administrative and tax data with survey data, we are able to control for large number of firm characteristics and thus minimise selection bias. We find that receipt of an R&D grant significantly increases the probability that a firm in the manufacturing and service sectors applies for a patent during 2005-2009, but no positive impact is found on the probability of applying for a trademark. Using only firms that participated in the Business Operation Survey, we find that receiving a grant almost doubles the probability that a firm introduces new goods and services to the world while its effects on process innovation and any product innovation are relatively much weaker. Moreover, there is little evidence that grant receipt has differential effects between small to medium (<50 employees) and larger firms. These findings are broadly in line with recent international evidence from Japan, Canada and Italy which found positive impacts of public R&D subsidy on patenting activity and the introduction of new products.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2015.