IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/lic/licosd/23909.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Financial Constraints and the Cyclicality of R&D Investment:Evidence from Slovenia

Author

Listed:
  • Simona Bovha-Padilla
  • Joze P. Damijan
  • Jozef Konings

Abstract

This paper uses firm level data to show how R&D investment responds to shocks in sales growth in credit constrained firms. A credit constrained firm has to rely on its cash flow and borrowing capacity to survive its short-run liquidity shock when hit by a negative shock. This reduces the possibility for further borrowing in order to invest in non-tangible long term R&D, hence a negative shock should hit R&D investments more in firms that are more credit constrained. We find that in financially constrained firms sales growth is positively associated with R&D investment, suggesting procyclical behavior of R&D investment in credit constrained firms. In contrast, we find that in firms with no financial constraints R&D investment is negatively correlated with sales growth, suggesting countercyclical behavior of R&D, consistent with the Schumpeterian idea of restructuring. Furthermore, we find that the firm level response in R&D investment to sales growth is stronger in firms that are more financially dependent, such as firms that are no part of a multinational, firms not receiving subsidies or firms with less collateral.

Suggested Citation

  • Simona Bovha-Padilla & Joze P. Damijan & Jozef Konings, 2009. "Financial Constraints and the Cyclicality of R&D Investment:Evidence from Slovenia," LICOS Discussion Papers 23909, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    • Handle: RePEc:lic:licosd:23909
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econ.kuleuven.be/licos/publications/dp/dp239.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Aghion & Philippe Askenazy & Nicolas Berman & Gilbert Cette & Laurent Eymard, 2012. "Credit Constraints And The Cyclicality Of R&D Investment: Evidence From France," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(5), pages 1001-1024, October.
    2. Malley, Jim & Muscatelli, V. Anton, 1999. "Business cycles and productivity growth: Are temporary downturns productive or wasteful?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 337-364, December.
    3. Damijan, Joze P. & Knell, Mark & Majcen, Boris & Rojec, Matija, 2003. "The role of FDI, R&D accumulation and trade in transferring technology to transition countries: evidence from firm panel data for eight transition countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 189-204, June.
    4. Jože P. Damijan & Mark Knell, 2005. "How Important Is Trade and Foreign Ownership in Closing the Technology Gap? Evidence from Estonia and Slovenia," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(2), pages 271-295, July.
    5. Fatas, Antonio, 2000. "Do Business Cycles Cast Long Shadows? Short-Run Persistence and Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 147-162, June.
    6. Beata S. Javorcik & Mariana Spatareanu, 2008. "Liquidity Constraints and Linkages with Multinationals," LICOS Discussion Papers 22508, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    7. Matthew Rafferty, 2003. "Do Business Cycles Influence Long-Run Growth? The Effect of Aggregate Demand on Firm-Financed R&D Expenditures," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 29(4), pages 607-618, Fall.
    8. repec:fth:harver:1473 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Saint-Paul, Gilles, 1993. "Productivity growth and the structure of the business cycle," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 861-883, May.
    10. Patrick Francois & Huw Lloyd-Ellis, 2003. "Animal Spirits Through Creative Destruction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 530-550, June.
    11. Walde, Klaus & Woitek, Ulrich, 2004. "R&D expenditure in G7 countries and the implications for endogenous fluctuations and growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 91-97, January.
    12. Bean, Charles R., 1990. "Endogenous growth and the procyclical behaviour of productivity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(2-3), pages 355-363, May.
    13. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 287-343, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Bronwyn H. Hall, 1992. "Investment and Research and Development at the Firm Level: Does the Source of Financing Matter?," NBER Working Papers 4096, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Degryse, Hans & de Jong, Abe, 2006. "Investment and internal finance: Asymmetric information or managerial discretion?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 125-147, January.
    16. Gadi Barlevy, 2007. "On the Cyclicality of Research and Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(4), pages 1131-1164, September.
    17. Himmelberg, Charles P & Petersen, Bruce C, 1994. "R&D and Internal Finance: A Panel Study of Small Firms in High-Tech Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(1), pages 38-51, February.
    18. Matthew Rafferty, 2003. "Do Business Cycles Alter the Composition of Research and Development Expenditures?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 21(3), pages 394-405, July.
    19. Polona Domadenik & Janez Prasnikar & Jan Svejnar, 2008. "How to Increase R&D in Transition Economies? Evidence from Slovenia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 193-208, February.
    20. Aghion, P. & Askenazy, P. & Berman, N. & Cette, G. & Eymard, L., 2008. "Credit Constraints and the Cyclicality of R&D Investment: Evidence from France," Working papers 198, Banque de France.
    21. Patrick Fracois & Huw Lloyd-Ellis, 2006. "Intrinsic Business Cycles With Pro-cyclical R&d," Working Paper 1102, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    22. Gadi Barlevy, 2004. "On the timing of innovation in stochastic Schumpeterian growth models," Working Paper Series WP-04-11, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    23. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1993. "Endogenous Growth and Cycles," NBER Working Papers 4286, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Schneider, Cedric & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2008. "On Young Innovative Companies: Why they matter and how (not) to policy support them," Working Papers 04-2008, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    25. Beata S. Javorcik & Mariana Spatareanu, 2008. "Liquidity Constraints and Linkages with Multinationals," LICOS Discussion Papers 22508, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    26. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt, 1997. "Endogenous Growth Theory," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011662, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hud, Martin & Rammer, Christian, 2014. "FuE- und Innovationsausgaben während der Krise: Strategien zur Sicherung des Innovationserfolgs," ZEW Dokumentationen 14-03, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Masino, Serena, 2012. "Macroeconomic instability and the incentive to innovate," MPRA Paper 38766, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Kadri M�nnasoo & Jaanika Merikull, 2011. "How do demand fluctations and credit constraints affect R&D? Evidence from Central, Southern and Eastern Europe," Bank of Estonia Working Papers wp2011-09, Bank of Estonia, revised 19 Jul 2011.
    4. Paloma López-García & José Manuel Montero & Enrique Moral-Benito, 2012. "Business cycles and investment in intangibles: evidence from Spanish firms," Working Papers 1219, Banco de España.
    5. Masino, Serena, 2012. "Macroeconomic instability and the incentive to innovate," MPRA Paper 38830, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Kadri M�nnasoo & Jaanika Merikull, 2011. "R&D in boom and boost : evidence from the World Bank Financial Crisis Survey," Bank of Estonia Working Papers wp2011-07, Bank of Estonia, revised 13 Jul 2011.
    7. 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.
    8. Pilar Beneito & María E. Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis, 2013. "Ownership and cyclicality of firms’ R&D investment," Working Papers 1306, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahmad, Manzoor, 2021. "Non-linear dynamics of innovation activities over the business cycles: Empirical evidence from OECD economies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Hud, Martin & Hussinger, Katrin, 2015. "The impact of R&D subsidies during the crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1844-1855.
    4. Daniel Giedeman & Paul Isely & Gerald Simons, 2006. "Innovation and the Business Cycle: A Comparison of the U.S. Semiconductor and Automobile Industries," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 12(2), pages 277-286, May.
    5. Hans van Ophem & Noud van Giersbergen & Kees Jan van Garderen & Maurice Bun, 2019. "The cyclicality of R&D investment revisited," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 315-324, March.
    6. repec:kap:iaecre:v:12:y:2006:i:2:p:277-286 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Bernhard Dachs & Martin Hud & Christian Köhler & Bettina Peters, 2016. "Employment Effects of Innovations over the Business Cycle: Firm-Level Evidence from European Countries," DEM Discussion Paper Series 16-20, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    8. Schmitz, Tom, 2021. "Endogenous growth, firm heterogeneity and the long-run impact of financial crises," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    9. Pellens, Maikel & Peters, Bettina & Hud, Martin & Rammer, Christian & Licht, Georg, 2020. "Public R&D investment in economic crises," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-088, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Min Ouyang, 2010. "Cyclical Persistence and the Cyclicality of R&D," Working Papers 101104, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2011.
    11. 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.
    12. Aysun, Uluc, 2020. "Volatility costs of R&D," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    13. Masino, Serena, 2012. "Macroeconomic instability and the incentive to innovate," MPRA Paper 38830, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Bettina Becker, 2013. "The Determinants of R&D Investment: A Survey of the Empirical Research," Discussion Paper Series 2013_09, Department of Economics, Loughborough University, revised Sep 2013.
    15. Masino, Serena, 2012. "Macroeconomic instability and the incentive to innovate," MPRA Paper 38766, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. 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.
    17. Grimm, Niklas & Laeven, Luc & Popov, Alexander, 2021. "Quantitative easing and corporate innovation," Working Paper Series 2615, European Central Bank.
    18. Masino, Serena, 2013. "Macro-Institutional Instability and the Incentive to Innovate," MPRA Paper 45938, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Andreas Reinstaller, 2019. "Produkteinführungen österreichischer Unternehmen und Konjunkturschwankungen," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 92(3), pages 173-182, March.
    20. Andreas Reinstaller, 2022. "Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie auf die Innovationsfähigkeit von Unternehmen in Österreich," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 69398, April.
    21. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    R&; D investment; financial constraints; cyclicality;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:lic:licosd:23909. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/licosbe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.