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Assessment of the public tools used to promote R&D investment in Spanish SMEs

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  • Desiderio Romero-Jordán
  • María Delgado-Rodríguez
  • Inmaculada Álvarez-Ayuso
  • Sonia Lucas-Santos

Abstract

In this paper, we identify the potential determinants of firm R&D to understand the effectiveness of public policies. Our results suggest a considerably low impact of tax credits and public grants on the R&D investment of the Spanish manufacturing firms. Tax credits are mainly considered by large firms that use them as a reduction in the tax burden in the corporate tax, while SMEs use public grants to alleviate financial constraints. This evidence leads to discuss alternatives to the current design of the public policies analyzed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Desiderio Romero-Jordán & María Delgado-Rodríguez & Inmaculada Álvarez-Ayuso & Sonia Lucas-Santos, 2014. "Assessment of the public tools used to promote R&D investment in Spanish SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 959-976, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:43:y:2014:i:4:p:959-976
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-014-9575-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Álvarez-Ayuso, Inmaculada C. & Kao, Chihwa & Romero-Jordán, Desiderio, 2018. "Long run effect of public grants and tax credits on R&D investment: A non-stationary panel data approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 93-104.
    2. Andrea Bellucci & Luca Pennacchio & Alberto Zazzaro, 2019. "Public R&D subsidies: collaborative versus individual place-based programs for SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 213-240, January.
    3. Kleine, Marco & Heite, Jonas & Huber, Laura Rosendahl, 2022. "Subsidized R&D collaboration: The causal effect of innovation vouchers on innovation outcomes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    4. OKAMURO, Hiroyuki & SAKUMA, Yohei, 2021. "The Effects of R&D Tax Incentive Reform on R&D Expenditures: The Case of 2009 Reform in Japan," TDB-CAREE Discussion Paper Series E-2021-04, Teikoku Databank Center for Advanced Empirical Research on Enterprise and Economy, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University.
    5. 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.
    6. Zhong, Meirui & Lu, Qiaolin & He, Ruifang, 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of industrial policy on technological innovation: Evidence from China's new metal material industry and micro-data," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Ivana Blažková, 2016. "The Impact of the Public Support for R & D on the Economic Performance of SMEs," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 64(1), pages 213-222.
    8. Tea Petrin & Dragana Radicic, 2023. "Instrument policy mix and firm size: is there complementarity between R&D subsidies and R&D tax credits?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 181-215, February.
    9. Alessandro Sterlacchini & Francesco Venturini, 2019. "R&D tax incentives in EU countries: does the impact vary with firm size?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 687-708, October.
    10. Xiaobao Song & Chun Guo & Wunhong Su, 2020. "Preferential Income Tax Rate and Research and Development Investment: Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Listed Firms in China," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-1, February.
    11. Hyoung Sun Yoo & Chul Lee & Seung-Pyo Jun, 2018. "The Characteristics of SMEs Preferring Cooperative Research and Development Support from the Government: The Case of Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Francesco Aiello & Giuseppe Albanese & Paolo Piselli, 2017. "Public R&D Support In Italy. Evidence From A New Firm-Level Patent Data Set," Working Papers 201702, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    R&D; Tax credits; Public grants; Effectiveness; Panel data; C26; H32; O38; L26; L60;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

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