Aides à la R&D. Pratiques internationales et revue de la littérature sur leurs effets

In this article, we provide a global overview of R&D aid and summarise recent evaluations of its impact. We show that aid takes numerous forms and is heterogeneous across countries, but that in Europe there is a recent trend for the weight of tax incentives to rise in comparison to direct aid. An international review of the literature on the econometric evaluation of public R&D grants shows that while the vast majority of studies conclude that R&D grants stimulate R&D investment, the magnitude of this effect differs. The wide range of estimates reflects both methodological differences and differences between the types of R&D aid studied, their design, their country of application, and the size or age of the firms. However, the macroeconomic correlation between the share of public support for R&D and the weight of R&D in GDP is imperfect, with some countries such as France standing out for strong public support while private R&D suffers from underinvestment. This reflects the fact that R&D and innovation are not only linked to public support but to many other factors. The conclusion makes some recommendations on the design of aid.