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Asymmetric Effects Of The Business Cycle On Firm-Financed R&D

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  • Matthew Rafferty
  • Mark Funk

Abstract

Business cycles might affect the ability of firms to finance R&D, since firms rely on cash flow to finance most R&D activities. However, business cycles also influence the incentive to perform R&D. The opportunity cost of funds devoted to R&D falls during recessions, since the return on production will likely be lower than during an expansion. During recessions, this provides firms with an incentive to redistribute an existing pool of funds away from production and towards R&D projects. The changes in the size and distribution of the pool may also be asymmetric across the business cycle. For example, cash-flow constraints are more likely to bind during recessions than expansions. This paper finds strong evidence for the cash-flow effect, but not the opportunity-cost effect. This means that R&D is pro-cyclical, but smoothing out the business cycle will actually lead to reduced R&D, since the duration of expansions exceeds the duration of recessions.

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  • Matthew Rafferty & Mark Funk, 2008. "Asymmetric Effects Of The Business Cycle On Firm-Financed R&D," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(5), pages 497-510.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:17:y:2008:i:5:p:497-510
    DOI: 10.1080/10438590701407232
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    Cited by:

    1. Masino, Serena, 2013. "Macro-Institutional Instability and the Incentive to Innovate," MPRA Paper 45938, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Aysun, Uluc, 2020. "Volatility costs of R&D," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    3. Pellens, Maikel & Peters, Bettina & Hud, Martin & Rammer, Christian & Licht, Georg, 2018. "Public investment in R&D in reaction to economic crises: A longitudinal study for OECD countries," ZEW Discussion Papers 18-005, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Uluc Aysun & Melanie Guldi & Adam Honig & Zeynep Yom, 2020. "R&D, Market Power and the Cyclicality of Employment," Villanova School of Business Department of Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series 47, Villanova School of Business Department of Economics and Statistics.
    5. William Griffiths & Elizabeth Webster, 2009. "What Governs Firm-Level R&D: Internal or External Factors?," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2009n13, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    6. Vicente Salas-Fumás & Javier Ortiz, 2019. "Innovations’ Success and Failure in the Business Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-22, August.
    7. Hud, Martin & Hussinger, Katrin, 2015. "The impact of R&D subsidies during the crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1844-1855.
    8. Serena Masino, 2012. "Macroeconomic Instability and the Incentive to Innovate," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 167, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    9. Uluc Aysun & Sami Alpanda, 2023. "The cyclicality of income distribution and innovation induced growth," Working Papers 2023-01, University of Central Florida, Department of Economics.
    10. Hingley, Peter & Park, Walter G., 2017. "Do business cycles affect patenting? Evidence from European Patent Office filings," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 76-86.
    11. Masino, Serena, 2012. "Macroeconomic instability and the incentive to innovate," MPRA Paper 38766, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Uluc Aysun & Zeynep Yom, 2021. "R&D Characteristics, Innovation Spillover, and Technology-Driven Business Cycles," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 339-365, September.
    13. Diekhof, Josefine & Krieger, Bastian & Licht, Georg & Rammer, Christian & Schmitt, Johannes & Stenke, Gero, 2021. "The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on innovation: First in-sights from the German business sector," ZEW Expert Briefs 21-06, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Masino, Serena, 2012. "Macroeconomic instability and the incentive to innovate," MPRA Paper 38830, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Nicolae Bacila, 2015. "State aid to R&D in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy," National Strategies Observer (NOS), Institute for World Economy, Romanian Academy, vol. 1.
    16. Gómez-Aguayo, Ana María & Azagra-Caro, Joaquín M. & Benito-Amat, Carlos, 2022. "The steady effect of knowledge co-creation with universities on business scientific impact throughout the economic cycle," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 202202, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 11 Jul 2022.
    17. Uluc Aysun & Zeynep Yom, 2019. "R&D, innovation spillover and business cycles," Villanova School of Business Department of Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series 43, Villanova School of Business Department of Economics and Statistics.
    18. Hud, Martin & Rammer, Christian, 2015. "Innovation budgeting over the business cycle and innovation performance," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-030, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    19. Serena Masino, 2015. "Macroeconomic Volatility, Institutional Instability and the Incentive to Innovate," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(1), pages 116-131, February.
    20. Kang, Taewon & Baek, Chulwoo & Lee, Jeong-Dong, 2017. "The persistency and volatility of the firm R&D investment: Revisited from the perspective of technological capability," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(9), pages 1570-1579.

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