Crowding in or crowding out? Evidence from discontinuity in the assignment of business R&D subsidies

IF 4.8 1区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Journal of Public Economics Pub Date : 2025-04-12 DOI:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2025.105357

Matěj Bajgar , Martin Srholec

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Abstract

We employ a regression discontinuity design to study the effects of a flagship business R&D subsidy programme in the Czech Republic on R&D investment, patenting and economic performance of the supported firms. The R&D subsidies stimulated R&D expenditure in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) but not in large firms. In SMEs, public funding succeeded in crowding in private R&D investment, and 1 unit of public subsidy was associated with about 2.3 units of additional R&D expenditure. The positive effects on R&D expenditure of SMEs were sustained after the original projects ended, possibly thanks to subsequent subsidies from the same funding provider. Supported SMEs also saw their sales increase in the short term, but we do not observe any positive effects of the support on patenting, employment or longer-term sales and productivity. We find evidence that the subsidies crowded out private R&D expenditure in large firms and financing constraints played an important role in explaining the effect heterogeneity.

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我们采用回归不连续设计研究了捷克共和国的旗舰企业研发补贴计划对研发投资、专利申请和受支持企业的经济表现的影响。研发补贴刺激了中小型企业的研发支出，但没有刺激大型企业的研发支出。在中小型企业中，公共资金成功地吸引了私人研发投资，1 个单位的公共补贴与大约 2.3 个单位的额外研发支出相关联。对中小型企业研发支出的积极影响在原始项目结束后得以持续，这可能要归功于同一资金提供者的后续补贴。受资助的中小企业的销售额在短期内也有所增长，但我们没有观察到资助对专利申请、就业或长期销售额和生产率产生任何积极影响。我们发现有证据表明，补贴挤占了大公司的私人研发支出，而融资限制在解释效果异质性方面发挥了重要作用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Public Economics ECONOMICS-

CiteScore

14.10

自引率

2.00%

发文量

139

审稿时长

70 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Public Economics aims to promote original scientific research in the field of public economics, focusing on the utilization of contemporary economic theory and quantitative analysis methodologies. It serves as a platform for the international scholarly community to engage in discussions on public policy matters.