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Taxation and Innovation: What Do We Know?

In: Innovation and Public Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Ufuk Akcigit
  • Stefanie Stantcheva

Abstract

Tax policies are a wide array of tools, commonly used by governments to influence the economy. In this paper, we review the many margins through which tax policies can affect innovation, the main driver of economic growth in the long-run. These margins include the impact of tax policy on i) the quantity and quality of innovation; ii) the geographic mobility of innovation and inventors across U.S. states and countries; iii) the declining business dynamism in the U.S., firm entry, and productivity; iv) the quality composition of firms, inventors, and teams; and v) the direction of research effort, e.g., toward applied versus basic research, or toward dirty versus clean technologies. We give ideas drawn from research on how the design of policy can allow policy makers to foster the most productive firms without wasting public funds on less productive ones.
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Suggested Citation

  • Ufuk Akcigit & Stefanie Stantcheva, 2020. "Taxation and Innovation: What Do We Know?," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation and Public Policy, pages 189-212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:14428
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yuanqi Li & Zhuo Li & Ting Liu, 2024. "Does university-industry collaboration improve firm productivity? Evidence from China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(7), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Philippe Aghion & Antonin Bergeaud & John Van Reenen, 2023. "The Impact of Regulation on Innovation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(11), pages 2894-2936, November.
    3. Nguyen, Hang T. T., 2024. "Corporate taxation and total factor productivity: Evidence on a non-linear relationship," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 284, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    4. John Van Reenen, 2022. "Innovation and Human Capital Policy," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation and Public Policy, pages 61-83, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Nina Weber, 2023. "Prosocial Risk-Taking: Growing the Pie or Increasing your Slice?," ifo Working Paper Series 399, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    6. Jonas Loebbing, 2023. "Redistributive Income Taxation with Directed Technical Change," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 420, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    7. Jonas Loebbing, 2020. "Redistributive Income Taxation with Directed Technical Change," CESifo Working Paper Series 8743, CESifo.
    8. Iacopetta, Maurizio & Peretto, Pietro F., 2024. "Business taxes, management delegation, and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    9. Brzezinski, Michal, 2022. "Does income redistribution impede innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    10. Marchiori, Carmen & Minelli, Enrico, 2023. "Talent, basic research and growth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    11. Howell, Sabrina T. & Rathje, Jason & Van Reenen, John & Wong, Jun, 2021. "Opening up Military Innovation: Causal Effects of 'Bottom-up' Reforms to U.S. Defense Research," IZA Discussion Papers 14297, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Tom Krebs & Janek Steitz, 2021. "Oeffentliche Finanzbedarfe fuer Klimainvestitionen im Zeitraum 2021-2030," Working Papers 3, Forum New Economy.
    13. Li, Fan & Liu, Chengjun & Wang, Wenche, 2025. "The impact of value-added tax reform on small and medium-sized firm innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    14. Kilström, Matilda & Roth, Paula, 2024. "Risk-sharing and entrepreneurship," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 341-360.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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