IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eec/wpaper/1403.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Path of R&D Efficiency over Time

Author

Listed:
  • 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Pilar Beneito & María Engracia Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis, 2014. "The Path of R&D Efficiency over Time," Working Papers 1403, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
  • Handle: RePEc:eec:wpaper:1403
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://repecsrv.uv.es/paper/RePEc/pdf/eec_1403.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2014
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Kraft, Kornelius & Thorwarth, Susanne, 2009. "The knowledge production of 'R' and 'D'," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 105(1), pages 141-143, October.
    2. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Mairesse, Jacques & Mohnen, Pierre, 2010. "Measuring the Returns to R&D," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1033-1082, Elsevier.
    3. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    4. Cameron,A. Colin & Trivedi,Pravin K., 2013. "Regression Analysis of Count Data," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107667273.
    5. Bronwyn H. Hall & Zvi Griliches & Jerry A. Hausman, 1984. "Patents and R&D: Is There A Lag?," NBER Working Papers 1454, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. John Bound & Clint Cummins & Zvi Griliches & Bronwyn H. Hall & Adam B. Jaffe, 1984. "Who Does R&D and Who Patents?," NBER Chapters, in: R&D, Patents, and Productivity, pages 21-54, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Hall, Bronwyn H & Griliches, Zvi & Hausman, Jerry A, 1986. "Patents and R and D: Is There a Lag?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 27(2), pages 265-283, June.
    8. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 1997. "Multiplicative Panel Data Models Without the Strict Exogeneity Assumption," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(5), pages 667-678, October.
    9. Dasgupta, Partha & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1988. "Learning-by-Doing, Market Structure and Industrial and Trade Policies," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 246-268, June.
    10. Blundell, Richard & Griffith, Rachel & Windmeijer, Frank, 2002. "Individual effects and dynamics in count data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 113-131, May.
    11. Bronwyn H. Hall, 2010. "Measuring the Returns to R&D: The Depreciation Problem," NBER Chapters, in: Contributions in Memory of Zvi Griliches, pages 341-381, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Zvi Griliches, 1958. "Research Costs and Social Returns: Hybrid Corn and Related Innovations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66, pages 419-419.
    13. David Besanko & Ulrich Doraszelski & Yaroslav Kryukov & Mark Satterthwaite, 2010. "Learning-by-Doing, Organizational Forgetting, and Industry Dynamics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(2), pages 453-508, March.
    14. Sherwin Rosen, 1972. "Learning by Experience as Joint Production," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 86(3), pages 366-382.
    15. Jan De Loecker, 2010. "A Note on Detecting Learning by Exporting," NBER Working Papers 16548, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    17. Juan A. Máñez & María E. Rochina‐Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis & Juan A. Sanchis, 2009. "The Role Of Sunk Costs In The Decision To Invest In R&D," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 712-735, December.
    18. Paula Bustos, 2011. "Trade Liberalization, Exports, and Technology Upgrading: Evidence on the Impact of MERCOSUR on Argentinian Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(1), pages 304-340, February.
    19. K. J. Arrow, 1971. "The Economic Implications of Learning by Doing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: F. H. Hahn (ed.), Readings in the Theory of Growth, chapter 11, pages 131-149, Palgrave Macmillan.
    20. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gril98-1, October.
    21. Beneito, Pilar, 2006. "The innovative performance of in-house and contracted R&D in terms of patents and utility models," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 502-517, May.
    22. Hausman, Jerry & Hall, Bronwyn H & Griliches, Zvi, 1984. "Econometric Models for Count Data with an Application to the Patents-R&D Relationship," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(4), pages 909-938, July.
    23. Ulrich Doraszelski & Jordi Jaumandreu, 2013. "R&D and Productivity: Estimating Endogenous Productivity," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 80(4), pages 1338-1383.
    24. C. Lanier Benkard, 2000. "Learning and Forgetting: The Dynamics of Aircraft Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 1034-1054, September.
    25. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    26. Jürgen Bitzer, 2005. "Measuring Knowledge Stocks: A Process of Creative Destruction," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 379-393, July.
    27. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    28. Pilar Beneito & María E. Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis, 2013. "Ownership and cyclicality of firms’ R&D investment," Working Papers 1306, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    29. Schankerman, Mark, 1981. "The Effects of Double-Counting and Expensing on the Measured Returns to R&D," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 63(3), pages 454-458, August.
    30. Guy David & Tanguy Brachet, 2011. "On the Determinants of Organizational Forgetting," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 100-123, August.
    31. C. Lanier Benkard, 2004. "A Dynamic Analysis of the Market for Wide-Bodied Commercial Aircraft," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 581-611.
    32. Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & John van Reenen, 1999. "Market Share, Market Value and Innovation in a Panel of British Manufacturing Firms," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 529-554.
    33. Leff, Nathaniel H, 1978. "Industrial Organization and Entrepreneurship in the Developing Countries: The Economic Groups," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(4), pages 661-675, July.
    34. Griliches, Zvi, 1998. "R&D and Productivity," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226308869, December.
    35. Ariel Pakes & Mark Schankerman, 1984. "The Rate of Obsolescence of Patents, Research Gestation Lags, and the Private Rate of Return to Research Resources," NBER Chapters, in: R&D, Patents, and Productivity, pages 73-88, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    36. Pilar Beneito & Paz Coscollá-Girona & María Engracia Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis, 2015. "Competitive Pressure and Innovation at the Firm Level," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 422-457, September.
    37. Silviano Pérez & Amparo Llopis & Juan Llopis, 2004. "The Determinants of Survival of Spanish Manufacturing Firms," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 25(3), pages 251-273, August.
    38. Hulten, Charles R & Wykoff, Frank C, 1996. "Issues in the Measurement of Economic Depreciation: Introductory Remarks," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 34(1), pages 10-23, January.
    39. Chamberlain, Gary, 1992. "Sequential Moment Restrictions in Panel Data: Comment," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 10(1), pages 20-26, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. P. Beneito & M. E. Rochina-Barrachina & A. Sanchis, 2016. "Foreign capital, credit constraints and continuity of firms' R&D," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 157-161, February.
    2. Yongqi Feng & Haolin Zhang & Yung-ho Chiu & Tzu-Han Chang, 2021. "Innovation efficiency and the impact of the institutional quality: a cross-country analysis using the two-stage meta-frontier dynamic network DEA model," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(4), pages 3091-3129, April.
    3. Labeaga, José M. & Martínez-Ros, Ester & Sanchis, Amparo & Sanchis, Juan A., 2021. "Does persistence in using R&D tax credits help to achieve product innovations?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    4. Mañez, J.A. & Love, J.H., 2020. "Quantifying sunk costs and learning effects in R&D persistence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    5. Tan, Xiujie & Liu, Yishuang & Dong, Hanmin & Zhang, Zhan, 2022. "The effect of carbon emission trading scheme on energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 506-517.
    6. Martina Halaskova & Beata Gavurova & Kristina Kocisova, 2020. "Research and Development Efficiency in Public and Private Sectors: An Empirical Analysis of EU Countries by Using DEA Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    7. García-Vega, María, 2022. "R&D restructuring during the Great Recession and young firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. María García-Vega, 2020. "R&D restructuring during the Great Recession and young firms," Discussion Papers 2020-09, University of Nottingham, GEP.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stiebale, Joel, 2016. "Cross-border M&As and innovative activity of acquiring and target firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 1-15.
    2. Bettina Becker, 2013. "The Determinants of R&D Investment: A Survey of the Empirical Research," Discussion Paper Series 2013_09, Department of Economics, Loughborough University, revised Sep 2013.
    3. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2010. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," MERIT Working Papers 2010-005, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Ugur, Mehmet & Trushin, Eshref & Solomon, Edna & Guidi, Francesco, 2016. "R&D and productivity in OECD firms and industries: A hierarchical meta-regression analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 2069-2086.
    5. Blundell, Richard & Griffith, Rachel & Windmeijer, Frank, 2002. "Individual effects and dynamics in count data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 113-131, May.
    6. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Mairesse, Jacques & Mohnen, Pierre, 2010. "Measuring the Returns to R&D," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1033-1082, Elsevier.
    7. Beneito, Pilar & Rochina-Barrachina, María Engracia & Sanchis, Amparo, 2014. "Learning through experience in Research & Development: An empirical analysis with Spanish firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 290-305.
    8. Shiferaw Gurmu & Fidel Pérez-Sebastián, 2008. "Patents, R&D and lag effects: evidence from flexible methods for count panel data on manufacturing firms," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 507-526, November.
    9. Wang, Ning & Hagedoorn, John, 2014. "The lag structure of the relationship between patenting and internal R&D revisited," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1275-1285.
    10. de Rassenfosse, Gaétan & Schoen, Anja & Wastyn, Annelies, 2014. "Selection bias in innovation studies: A simple test," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 287-299.
    11. Anelí Bongers, 2017. "Learning and forgetting in the jet fighter aircraft industry," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, September.
    12. Pilar BeneitoBy & María Engracia Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis, 2017. "Competition and innovation with selective exit: an inverted-U shape relationship?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(4), pages 1032-1053.
    13. Yoshitsugu Kitazawa, 2012. "An improved theoretical ground for the linear feedback model and a new indicator," Discussion Papers 58, Kyushu Sangyo University, Faculty of Economics.
    14. Kornelius Kraft & Jörg Stank & Ralf Dewenter, 2011. "Co-determination and innovation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(1), pages 145-172.
    15. Bosch, Mariano & Lederman, Daniel & Maloney, William F., 2005. "Patenting and research and development : a global view," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3739, The World Bank.
    16. Nikolay Chernyshev, 2017. "The Relationship between R&D and Competition: Reconciling Theory and Evidence," CDMA Working Paper Series 201704, Centre for Dynamic Macroeconomic Analysis.
    17. Grazia Cecere & Sascha Rexhäuser & Patrick Schulte, 2019. "From less promising to green? Technological opportunities and their role in (green) ICT innovation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 45-63, January.
    18. Alexandre Almeida & Aurora A.C. Teixeira, 2007. "Does Patenting negatively impact on R&D investment?An international panel data assessment," FEP Working Papers 255, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    19. repec:dau:papers:123456789/6962 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Banholzer, Nicolas & Behrens, Vanessa & Feuerriegel, Stefan & Heinrich, Sebastian & Rammer, Christian & Schmoch, Ulrich & Seliger, Florian & Wörter, Martin, 2019. "Knowledge spillovers from product and process inventions in patents and their impact on firm performance. End report," ZEW Expertises, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, number 222367.
    21. Koutroumpis, Pantelis & Leiponen, Aija & Thomas, Llewellyn D W, 2017. "The Young, the Old and the Innovative: The Impact of R&D on Firm Performance in ICT versus Other Sectors," ETLA Working Papers 51, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    R&D; dynamic returns; interruptions; product innovation; count data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eec:wpaper:1403. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Vicente Esteve (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dsvales.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.