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Testing for the Ratchet Effect in the R&D Tax Credit

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  • Yun Jeong Choi
  • Jinook Jeong

Abstract

Many countries have implemented the R&D tax credit to encourage firms' R&D spending. The design of the tax credit is important for its effectiveness. Some countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Japan, France and the US have employed an incremental R&D tax credit system. The US case that made a major change in its design from the moving average base to the fixed base in calculating the credit provides us with a natural experiment to measure the effectiveness of the tax credit from the perspective of the ratchet effect. By applying an endogenous switching regression model to US manufacturing firm data, we attempt to measure the ratchet effect of R&D credit on firms' R&D investment. According to the empirical results, the R&D tax credit policy has been effective with the price elasticity, -1.818, for the qualified firms, and the re-design of R&D credit improved the positive impact of R&D credit. This provides some policy implication for those countries that adopted an incremental credit system. In addition, our result suggests the existence of selectivity bias in the previous literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Yun Jeong Choi & Jinook Jeong, 2015. "Testing for the Ratchet Effect in the R&D Tax Credit," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 327-342, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intecj:v:29:y:2015:i:2:p:327-342
    DOI: 10.1080/10168737.2014.992033
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lee, Lung-fei & Maddala, G S & Trost, R P, 1980. "Asymptotic Covariance Matrices of Two-Stage Probit and Two-Stage Tobit Methods for Simultaneous Equations Models with Selectivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(2), pages 491-503, March.
    2. Gregory Tassey, 2007. "Tax incentives for innovation: time to restructure the R&E tax credit," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 32(6), pages 605-615, December.
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    4. Bloom, Nick & Griffith, Rachel & Van Reenen, John, 2002. "Do R&D tax credits work? Evidence from a panel of countries 1979-1997," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 1-31, July.
    5. Hall, Bronwyn & Van Reenen, John, 2000. "How effective are fiscal incentives for R&D? A review of the evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 449-469, April.
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