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Public R&D Subsidies and Productivity: Evidence from Firm-Level Data in Quebec

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  • Baghana, Rufin

    (Ministère des Finances, Québec)

Abstract

This paper analyses empirically the impacts of public R&D grants on private R&D investments and on the productivity growth of the manufacturing firms in a context where fiscal incentives are present. Using the conditional semiparametric differenceindifferences estimator on longitudinal data from Quebec we show that firms that use public grants for R&D in conjunction with tax credits for R&D perform better in terms of R&D input additionality than firms that use only tax credits for R&D. We then use a production function to assess the effectiveness of public R&D grants in the productivity growth of firms. We find that for each additional dollar of public R&D grant, output increases by 0.134 dollars. We conclude that the additional return of direct subsidies is positive but lower than the return on the R&D financed by own funds or R&D tax credits.

Suggested Citation

  • Baghana, Rufin, 2010. "Public R&D Subsidies and Productivity: Evidence from Firm-Level Data in Quebec," MERIT Working Papers 2010-055, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2010055
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    File URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2010/wp2010-055.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Møen, Jarle, 2018. "Corporate returns to subsidized R&D projects: Direct grants vs tax credit financing," Discussion Papers 2018/9, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    2. Correa, Paulo & Andres, Luis & Borja-Vega, Christian, 2013. "The impact of government support on firm R&D investments : a meta-analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6532, The World Bank.
    3. Mattsson, Pontus, 2019. "The impact of labour subsidies on total factor productivity and profit per employee," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 325-341.
    4. Heli Koski & Mika Pajarinen, 2015. "Subsidies, the Shadow of Death and Labor Productivity," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 189-204, June.
    5. Koski, Heli & Pajarinen, Mika, 2013. "Subsidies, Shadow of Death and Productivity," ETLA Working Papers 16, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    6. Spyros Arvanitis, 2013. "Micro-econometric approaches to the evaluation of technology-oriented public programmes: a non-technical review of the state of the art," Chapters, in: Albert N. Link & Nicholas S. Vonortas (ed.), Handbook on the Theory and Practice of Program Evaluation, chapter 3, pages 56-88, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Kolobova, Valeriya A. & Zyatchin, Andrey V., 2016. "Business Process for the Selection of the Raw MaterialsÙ Supplier on the Example of the Company "Yuzhtehmontazh"," Conference Papers 8676, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    R&D; Public subsidies; Quebec; Productivity; Difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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