IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v36y2014icp251-260.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Public economics gone wild: Lessons from venture capital

Author

Listed:
  • Cumming, Douglas

Abstract

A recent article in the Journal of Public Economics has asserted, among other things, that government venture capital funds in Europe have crowded out private venture capital. I explain that the findings in that paper are based on empirical measures that are completely flawed. Moreover, I show with data spanning 13 countries and the years 1989–2011 that government venture capital funds in Europe have not crowded out private venture capital investment. Finally, I draw implications for studying venture capital and public policy for other countries such as India and China.

Suggested Citation

  • Cumming, Douglas, 2014. "Public economics gone wild: Lessons from venture capital," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 251-260.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:36:y:2014:i:c:p:251-260
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2013.10.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521913001415
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2013.10.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexander Groh & Heinrich Von Liechtenstein & Karsten Lieser, 2010. "The European Venture Capital and Private Equity country attractiveness indices," Post-Print hal-02312815, HAL.
    2. Xun Li & Zhenyu Wu, 2008. "Reputation entrenchment or risk minimization?: Early stop and investor-manager agency conflict in fund management," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 9(2), pages 125-150, February.
    3. Black, Bernard S. & Gilson, Ronald J., 1998. "Venture capital and the structure of capital markets: banks versus stock markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 243-277, March.
    4. Gompers, Paul & Kovner, Anna & Lerner, Josh & Scharfstein, David, 2008. "Venture capital investment cycles: The impact of public markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 1-23, January.
    5. Cumming, Douglas & Johan, Sofia, 2007. "Regulatory harmonization and the development of private equity markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(10), pages 3218-3250, October.
    6. Christian Keuschnigg, 2004. "Venture Capital Backed Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 239-261, June.
    7. Christian Keuschnigg & Søren Bo Nielsen, 2004. "Progressive Taxation, Moral Hazard, and Entrepreneurship," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 6(3), pages 471-490, August.
    8. Cumming, Douglas J. & MacIntosh, Jeffrey G., 2006. "Crowding out private equity: Canadian evidence," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 569-609, September.
    9. Keuschnigg, Christian & Nielsen, Soren Bo, 2003. "Tax policy, venture capital, and entrepreneurship," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 175-203, January.
    10. Da Rin, Marco & Nicodano, Giovanna & Sembenelli, Alessandro, 2006. "Public policy and the creation of active venture capital markets," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(8-9), pages 1699-1723, September.
    11. Cumming, Douglas J. & Johan, Sofia A., 2013. "Venture Capital and Private Equity Contracting," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 2, number 9780124095373.
    12. Keuschnigg, Christian & Nielsen, Soren Bo, 2004. "Start-ups, venture capitalists, and the capital gains tax," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(5), pages 1011-1042, April.
    13. James M. Poterba, 1989. "Venture Capital and Capital Gains Taxation," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 3, pages 47-68, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Wang, Lanfang & Wang, Susheng, 2012. "Economic freedom and cross-border venture capital performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 26-50.
    15. Christian Keuschnigg & Soren Bo Nielsen, 2003. "Taxes and Venture Capital Support," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 7(3), pages 515-539.
    16. Groh, Alexander Peter & von Liechtenstein, Heinrich & Lieser, Karsten, 2010. "The European Venture Capital and Private Equity country attractiveness indices," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 205-224, April.
    17. Nahata, Rajarishi, 2008. "Venture capital reputation and investment performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 127-151, November.
    18. Alexander Peter Groh & Heinrich von Liechtenstein, 2011. "The First Step of the Capital Flow from Institutions to Entrepreneurs: the Criteria for Sorting Venture Capital Funds," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 17(3), pages 532-559, June.
    19. Jeng, Leslie A. & Wells, Philippe C., 2000. "The determinants of venture capital funding: evidence across countries," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 241-289, September.
    20. Alexander Groh & Heinrich Von Liechtenstein, 2011. "The first step of the capital flow from institutions to entrepreneurs : the criteria for sorting venture capital funds," Post-Print hal-02312606, HAL.
    21. John Armour & Douglas Cumming, 2006. "The legislative road to Silicon Valley," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(4), pages 596-635, October.
    22. Cumming, Douglas & Li, Dan, 2013. "Public policy, entrepreneurship, and venture capital in the United States," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 345-367.
    23. Jianhong Xue & Peter G. Klein, 2010. "Regional determinants of technology entrepreneurship," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(3), pages 291-308.
    24. Leleux, Benoit & Surlemont, Bernard, 2003. "Public versus private venture capital: seeding or crowding out? A pan-European analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 81-104, January.
    25. Christian Keuschnigg & Soren Nielsen, 2001. "Public Policy for Venture Capital," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 8(4), pages 557-572, August.
    26. Douglas Cumming & Grant Fleming & Armin Schwienbacher, 2005. "Liquidity Risk and Venture Capital Finance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 34(4), Winter.
    27. Vesa Kanniainen & Christian Keuschnigg (ed.), 2004. "Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, and Public Policy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262112876, April.
    28. Xun Li & Hwee Huat Tan & Craig Wilson & Zhenyu Wu, 2013. "When should venture capitalists exit their investee companies?," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 351-364, September.
    29. Douglas J. Cumming & Jeffrey G. MacIntosh, 2007. "Mutual funds that invest in private equity? An analysis of labour-sponsored investment funds," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 31(3), pages 445-487, May.
    30. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2013_030 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Cumming, Douglas, 2007. "Government policy towards entrepreneurial finance: Innovation investment funds," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 193-235, March.
    32. Douglas Cumming & Grant Fleming & Armin Schwienbacher, 2009. "Style Drift in Private Equity," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5‐6), pages 645-678, June.
    33. Da Rin, Marco & Nicodano, Giovanna & Sembenelli, Alessandro, 2006. "Public policy and the creation of active venture capital markets," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(8-9), pages 1699-1723, September.
    34. Douglas Cumming & Grant Fleming & Armin Schwienbacher, 2009. "Style Drift in Private Equity," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5‐6), pages 645-678, June.
    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. Jonathan Labbé, 2017. "Private Equity: Universality of financing and universality of effects on business innovation? A conceptual approach [Capital-investissement : Universalité du financement et universalité des effets ," Post-Print hal-03000109, HAL.
    2. Robert Baldock, 2016. "An assessment of the business impacts of the UK’s Enterprise Capital Funds," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(8), pages 1556-1581, December.
    3. Jonathan Labbé, 2016. "Relationship between private and public investors: lever or hindrance to innovation [Relations entre investisseurs privés et publics : levier ou obstacle à l'innovation]," Post-Print hal-03000105, HAL.
    4. Di Pietro, Francesca & Butticè, Vincenzo, 2020. "Institutional characteristics and the development of crowdfunding across countries," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Jianjun Xu & Lijie Yu & Rakesh Gupta, 2020. "Evaluating the Performance of the Government Venture Capital Guiding Fund Using the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    6. Cumming, Douglas & Henriques, Irene & Sadorsky, Perry, 2016. "‘Cleantech’ venture capital around the world," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 86-97.
    7. Pavlova, Elitsa & Signore, Simone, 2019. "The European venture capital landscape: an EIF perspective. Volume V: The economic impact of VC investments supported by the EIF," EIF Working Paper Series 2019/55, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    8. Cumming, Douglas & Zhang, Yelin, 2016. "Alternative investments in emerging markets: A review and new trends," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-23.

    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. Douglas Cumming, 2010. "Public policy and the creation of active venture capital markets," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 75-94, April.
    2. Cumming, Douglas & Zhang, Yelin, 2016. "Alternative investments in emerging markets: A review and new trends," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-23.
    3. Jianjun Xu & Lijie Yu & Rakesh Gupta, 2020. "Evaluating the Performance of the Government Venture Capital Guiding Fund Using the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    4. Rin, Marco Da & Hellmann, Thomas & Puri, Manju, 2013. "A Survey of Venture Capital Research," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 573-648, Elsevier.
    5. Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan, 2009. "Pre-seed government venture capital funds," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 26-56, March.
    6. Carolin Bock & Martin Watzinger, 2019. "The Capital Gains Tax: A Curse but Also a Blessing for Venture Capital Investment," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(4), pages 1200-1231, October.
    7. Douglas Cumming, 2010. "Misinforming the public about public policy towards venture capital," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 99-102, October.
    8. Ann‐Kristin Achleitner & Nico Engel & Uwe Reiner, 2013. "The performance of venture capital investments: Do investors overreact?," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 20-35, January.
    9. Luca Grilli & Boris Mrkajic & Gresa Latifi, 2018. "Venture capital in Europe: social capital, formal institutions and mediation effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 393-410, August.
    10. Achleitner, Ann-Kristin & Engel, Nico & Reiner, Uwe, 2013. "The performance of venture capital investments: Do investors overreact?," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 20-35.
    11. Cole, Rebel & Cumming, Douglas & Li, Dan, 2016. "Do banks or VCs spur small firm growth?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 60-72.
    12. John Armour & Douglas Cumming, 2006. "The legislative road to Silicon Valley," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(4), pages 596-635, October.
    13. Murray, Gordon, 2020. "Ten Meditations on (Public) Venture Capital – Revisited," MPRA Paper 104389, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Cumming, Douglas & Johan, Sofia, 2007. "Regulatory harmonization and the development of private equity markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(10), pages 3218-3250, October.
    15. Guerini, Massimiliano & Quas, Anita, 2016. "Governmental venture capital in Europe: Screening and certification," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 175-195.
    16. Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan, 2010. "Phasing Out an Inefficient Venture Capital Tax Credit," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 227-252, September.
    17. Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan, 2006. "Provincial preferences in private equity," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 20(4), pages 369-398, December.
    18. Soleimani Dahaj, Arash & Cozzarin, Brian Paul, 2019. "Government venture capital and cross-border investment," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 113-127.
    19. Laura Abrardi & Annalisa Croce & Elisa Ughetto, 2019. "The dynamics of switching between governmental and independent venture capitalists: theory and evidence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 165-188, June.
    20. Schertler, Andrea & Tykvová, Tereza, 2012. "What lures cross-border venture capital inflows?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1777-1799.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Venture capital; Public policy; Government sponsorship; Tax; Crowding out;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law

    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:eee:finana:v:36:y:2014:i:c:p:251-260. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    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.