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The Effectiveness of R&D Tax Credits: Cross-Industry Evidence

Author

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  • Russell Thomson

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne)

Abstract

This paper presents new estimates of the efficacy of R&D tax incentives using cross-countrycross-industry data and a novel measure of tax policy that incorporates differences in the average capital–labour ratio in R&D investment across industries and variation in the tax treatment of different expenditure types across countries and over time. The results suggest that, in the short run, industry increases R&D investment by 0.24 dollars for every dollar of tax revenue forgone. The results appear to be more robust than estimates based on crosscountry or firm-level data.

Suggested Citation

  • Russell Thomson, 2013. "The Effectiveness of R&D Tax Credits: Cross-Industry Evidence," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2013n18, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2013n18
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    File URL: http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/working_paper_series/wp2013n18.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Russell Thomson, 2010. "Tax Policy and R&D Investment by Australian Firms," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 86(273), pages 260-280, June.
    2. Martin Falk, 2006. "What drives business Research and Development (R&D) intensity across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 533-547.
    3. Daniel J. Wilson, 2009. "Beggar Thy Neighbor? The In-State, Out-of-State, and Aggregate Effects of R&D Tax Credits," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 431-436, May.
    4. Dominique Guellec & Bruno Van Pottelsberghe De La Potterie, 2003. "The impact of public R&D expenditure on business R&D," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 225-243.
    5. Goolsbee, Austan, 1998. "Does Government R&D Policy Mainly Benefit Scientists and Engineers?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 298-302, May.
    6. Bronwyn Hall, 1992. "R&D Tax Policy During the Eighties: Success or Failure?," NBER Working Papers 4240, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Russell Thomson, 2013. "Measures of R&D Tax Incentives for OECD Countries," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 4(3).
    8. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. A. Minniti & F. Venturini, 2014. "R&D Policy and Schumpeterian Growth: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers wp945, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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