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Good value for public money? The case of R&D policy

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  • Aiello, Francesco
  • Albanese, Giuseppe
  • Piselli, Paolo

Abstract

This paper evaluates the role of public R&D support on Italian manufacturing SMEs’ innovation activities, focusing on innovation output rather than innovation input. Combining information from EPO records and the Capitalia survey, the new data set enables a counterfactual assessment of R&D policy from 2001 to 2003 (2009 is the final year of the post-treatment period). We find that publicly supported firms have higher R&D expenditure regardless of their characteristics, confirming a strong additionality effect of public policies on innovation inputs. However, this additional spending does not increase firms’ probability of patenting or the number of patents in comparison with privately financed R&D.

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  • Aiello, Francesco & Albanese, Giuseppe & Piselli, Paolo, 2019. "Good value for public money? The case of R&D policy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1057-1076.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:41:y:2019:i:6:p:1057-1076
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2019.02.006
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    2. Alex Coad & Agustí Segarra-Blasco & Mercedes Teruel, 2021. "A bit of basic, a bit of applied? R&D strategies and firm performance," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 1758-1783, December.
    3. Mónica Espinosa-Blasco & Gabriel I. Penagos-Londoño & Felipe Ruiz-Moreno & María J. Vilaplana-Aparicio, 2024. "New Insights on the Allocation of Innovation Subsidies: A Machine Learning Approach," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 2704-2725, March.
    4. Květa Olšanová & Eva Křenková & Pavel Hnát & Ondřej Vilikus, 2021. "State-Business Relations from the Perspective of the Companies' Preparedness for the Changes Related to the Implementation of the Industry 4.0 Elements: A Case of the Czech Republic," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2021(5), pages 53-79.
    5. Helena Lenihan & Kevin Mulligan & Justin Doran & Christian Rammer & Olubunmi Ipinnaiye, 2024. "R&D grants and R&D tax credits to foreign-owned subsidiaries: Does supporting multinational enterprises’ R&D pay off in terms of firm performance improvements for the host economy?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 740-781, April.
    6. Kállay, László & Takács, Tibor, 2023. "The impact of public subsidies on investment and growth: Policy about evaluation, selection and monitoring," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 895-909.
    7. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno & Stefania P. S. Rossi, 2020. "How firms finance innovation. Further empirics from European SMEs," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(4), pages 689-714, November.
    8. Calabrese, G.G. & Falavigna, G. & Ippoliti, R., 2024. "Innovation policy and corporate finance: The Italian automotive supply chain and its transition to Industry 4.0," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 336-353.
    9. Mardones, Cristian & Velásquez, Andrés, 2021. "Macroeconomic, intersectoral, and environmental effects of R&D subsidies in Chile: An input-output approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    10. Aalto, Eero & Gustafsson, Robin, 2020. "Innovation Promotion Rationales and Impacts – A Review," ETLA Reports 99, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Patents; R&D support; Policy evaluation; SMEs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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