No abstract

Applied Econometrics, Germany, Innovation success, R&D cooperation, L25, O31, C24,

No abstract

This study provides insights into the effects of public R&D grants on R&D input and output of firms from Germany. Previous research has shown that the allocation of R&D project grants is rather stable regarding the pool of beneficiaries. The question is whether this participation pattern can be justified by its realized effects. In addition, the impact of the grant size on the effects is investigated. Therefore, I allow to a certain extent for heterogeneous treatment effects in these two dimensions. Using a sample of about 8,500 observations, a non-parametric matching approach with multiple treatments is applied to estimate the effects of public R&D grants on firm's R&D input. The results show that particularly frequently given grants as well as medium and large grants are suitable to increase the scope of firm-financed R&D plans. For the analysis of the effects on firm's R&D output the R&D expenditures are disentangled in R&D which would have been spent in the absence of the grant and publicly induced R&D, including the grant and the effect on private R&D expenditures. Basically both types of R&D are equally productive in terms of innovative output. For the statement that a rather stable pattern of program participation leads to a lower effectiveness of the instrument no evidence has been found.

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp08018.pdf Non-Technical SummaryEach year over three thousand R&D projects in more than two thousand firms received public grants from the German Federal Government. However, the number of subsidized firms does not reveal, whether it is always the same group of companies that receive funding, or whether the beneficiaries change over time. Understanding the temporal structure of subsidy distribution could help future research explain the effects and effectiveness of subsidies. In the face of shrinking government budgets and intensified international competition in the field of technology, knowing and increasing the efficiency of innovation policies has become crucial.The focus is set on a specific public support scheme, the German Federal Government's non-defense R&D project funding scheme (DPF). This is the most important tool used by the German government to fund R&D in private businesses. In 2005, firms received over 700 million euros under this scheme. The importance of this funding scheme will increase in Germany in the coming years since it is the main distribution channel for the new High-Tech strategy launched by the Federal Government (BMBF, 2006b).The aim of this paper is to analyze the structure of the firms receiving R&D subsidies over time. In particular, I tackle the question of whether the same firms enjoy subsidies over time. There is still very little empirical evidence on the dynamics of firms' participation in public funding schemes. In order to investigate the persistence of funding it is necessary to distinguish between two types of persistence. One is simply due to the fact that funded projects may run for more than one calendar year. The other is due to newly approved projects. In the DPF scheme, approved projects last on average for about three years.The empirical part of this paper is based on an annual innovation survey, the German part of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). This is merged with the DPF database in order to identify a firm's subsidy status in each year. The sample consists of over 6,000 different firms covering the manufacturing and knowledge-intensive service sectors over the time period from 1994 to 2004.Transition rates are calculated which describe the participation in the DPF scheme between two periods in a univariate context. The share of innovating firms which enter the funding scheme is extremely low. But if a firm has made ...

This study explores the role of contemporaneous peer effects in driving an academic's involvement with industry. Specifically, we examine the influence of workplace peers and personal collaborators and how these effects are moderated by the career age of the scientist. Moreover, we look at situations in which both types of social influence are incongruent and the academic is faced with "dissonance".Based on survey data of 355 German academics in the field of biotechnology and publication data from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), we find that the scientist's involvement with industry increases with the orientation of the scientist's department towards industry ("localized peer effect"). This effect turns out to be moderated by the scientist's age, such that the localized peer effect decreases with age and finally turns negative for very senior scientists. Moreover, we find that a scientist's involvement increases with the industry orientation of the scientist's co-authors ("personal peer effect"), irrespective of the scientist's age. In case both types of social influence are incongruent, younger scientists will revert to localized norms while more experienced scientists will orient themselves more towards their personal collaborators.

No abstract

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. December 2016 Geographical Clustering and the Effectiveness of Public Innovation Programs AbstractThe paper analyzes how geographical clustering of beneficiaries might affect the effectiveness of public innovation support programs. The geographical proximity of firms operating in the same industry or field of technology is expected to facilitate innovation through knowledge spillovers and other localization advantages. Public innovation support programs may leverage these advantages by focusing on firms that operate in a cluster. We investigate this link using data from a large German program that co-funds R&D projects of SMEs in key technology areas called 'Innovative SMEs'. We employ three alternative cluster measures which capture industry, technology and knowledge dimensions of clusters. Regardless of the measure, firms located in a geographical cluster are more likely to participate in the program. Firms being part of a knowledge-based cluster significantly increases their chance of receiving public financial support. We find no effects, however, of geographical clustering on the program's effectiveness in terms of input or output additionality.JEL-Classification: C35, H50, O31, O32, O38, R59