IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecmode/v120y2023ics0264999322003881.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can government subsidies improve innovation performance? Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Author

Listed:
  • Xu, Ronghua
  • Shen, Yuxin
  • Liu, Meng
  • Li, Lu
  • Xia, Xuehua
  • Luo, Kaixin

Abstract

This study examined whether government subsidies improve innovation performance in China. Existing studies provide conflicting insights regarding the impact of government subsidies on innovation performance. Government subsidies have a crowding-out effect and a crowding-in effect on innovation performance through both complementary and substitution effect mechanisms. Using data from 2012 to 2019 in Chinese listed companies, we found an inverted U-relationship between subsidies and innovation performance and that internal control plays a significant moderating role between them. The inverted U-relationship is more significant in high-quality innovative firms and in manufacturing, but firm size and subsidy amounts have moderating effects. Furthermore, continuity of government subsidies also has the same impact on innovation performance. Our results indicate that Chinese government subsidies contribute to innovation performance, but the role is limited by the level of management and quality of innovation, the industry in which the firm operates, and the size and continuity of government subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Ronghua & Shen, Yuxin & Liu, Meng & Li, Lu & Xia, Xuehua & Luo, Kaixin, 2023. "Can government subsidies improve innovation performance? Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:120:y:2023:i:c:s0264999322003881
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2022.106151
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999322003881
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econmod.2022.106151?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ioannis Bournakis & Dimitris Christopoulos & Sushanta Mallick, 2018. "Knowledge Spillovers And Output Per Worker: An Industry‐Level Analysis For Oecd Countries," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1028-1046, April.
    2. Giovanni Dosi & Luigi Marengo & Corrado Pasquali, 2010. "How Much Should Society Fuel the Greed of Innovators? On the Relations between Appropriability, Opportunities and Rates of Innovation," Chapters, in: Riccardo Viale & Henry Etzkowitz (ed.), The Capitalization of Knowledge, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Bronwyn Hall, 2004. "The financing of research and development," Chapters, in: Anthony Bartzokas & Sunil Mani (ed.), Financial Systems, Corporate Investment in Innovation, and Venture Capital, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Hollis Ashbaugh‐Skaife & Daniel W. Collins & William R. Kinney Jr & Ryan Lafond, 2009. "The Effect of SOX Internal Control Deficiencies on Firm Risk and Cost of Equity," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 1-43, March.
    5. Lokshin, Boris & Mohnen, Pierre, 2013. "Do R&D tax incentives lead to higher wages for R&D workers? Evidence from The Netherlands," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 823-830.
    6. Nemlioglu, Ilayda & Mallick, Sushanta K., 2020. "Do innovation-intensive firms mitigate their valuation uncertainty during bad times?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 913-940.
    7. Boldrin, Michele & Levine, David K., 2004. "Rent-seeking and innovation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 127-160, January.
    8. Feldman, Maryann P. & Kelley, Maryellen R., 2006. "The ex ante assessment of knowledge spillovers: Government R&D policy, economic incentives and private firm behavior," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 1509-1521, December.
    9. Saul Lach, 2002. "Do R&D Subsidies Stimulate or Displace Private R&D? Evidence from Israel," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 369-390, December.
    10. Filipe Silva & Carlos Carreira, 2012. "Do financial constraints threat the innovation process? Evidence from Portuguese firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(8), pages 701-736, November.
    11. Sushanta K. MALLICK & Ricardo M. SOUSA, 2017. "The skill premium effect of technological change: New evidence from United States manufacturing," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 156(1), pages 113-131, March.
    12. Jo Thori Lind & Halvor Mehlum, 2010. "With or Without U? The Appropriate Test for a U‐Shaped Relationship," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(1), pages 109-118, February.
    13. Clausen, Tommy H., 2009. "Do subsidies have positive impacts on R&D and innovation activities at the firm level?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 239-253, December.
    14. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2008. "Why Is Rent-Seeking So Costly to Growth?," Springer Books, in: Roger D. Congleton & Kai A. Konrad & Arye L. Hillman (ed.), 40 Years of Research on Rent Seeking 2, pages 213-218, Springer.
    15. Batabyal, Amitrajeet A. & Beladi, Hamid, 2016. "The effects of probabilistic innovations on Schumpeterian economic growth in a creative region," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 224-230.
    16. Nemlioglu, Ilayda & Mallick, Sushanta, 2021. "Effective innovation via better management of firms: The role of leverage in times of crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    17. Richard F. J. Haans & Constant Pieters & Zi-Lin He, 2016. "Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U- and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1177-1195, July.
    18. He, Jie (Jack) & Tian, Xuan, 2013. "The dark side of analyst coverage: The case of innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 856-878.
    19. Hu, Albert G.Z. & Zhang, Peng & Zhao, Lijing, 2017. "China as number one? Evidence from China's most recent patenting surge," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 107-119.
    20. Elias Dinopoulos & Constantinos Syropoulos, 2007. "Rent Protection as a Barrier to Innovation and Growth," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 32(2), pages 309-332, August.
    21. Almus, Matthias & Czarnitzki, Dirk, 2003. "The Effects of Public R&D Subsidies on Firms' Innovation Activities: The Case of Eastern Germany," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 21(2), pages 226-236, April.
    22. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 17-45, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    24. Kleer, Robin, 2010. "Government R&D subsidies as a signal for private investors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1361-1374, December.
    25. Choi, Suk Bong & Lee, Soo Hee & Williams, Christopher, 2011. "Ownership and firm innovation in a transition economy: Evidence from China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 441-452, April.
    26. Chen, Charles J.P. & Li, Zengquan & Su, Xijia & Sun, Zheng, 2011. "Rent-seeking incentives, corporate political connections, and the control structure of private firms: Chinese evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 229-243, April.
    27. Collins, Tracy, 2015. "Imitation: A catalyst for innovation and endogenous growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 299-307.
    28. John Asker & Joan Farre-Mensa & Alexander Ljungqvist, 2011. "Comparing the Investment Behavior of Public and Private Firms," NBER Working Papers 17394, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    29. Gianfranco E. Atzeni & Oliviero A. Carboni, 2006. "The Effects of Subsidies on Investment: an Empirical Evaluation on ICT in Italy," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 97(5), pages 279-302.
    30. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Hussinger, Katrin, 2004. "The Link Between R&D Subsidies, R&D Spending and Technological Performance," ZEW Discussion Papers 04-56, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    31. Boeing, Philipp, 2016. "The allocation and effectiveness of China’s R&D subsidies - Evidence from listed firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1774-1789.
    32. Daniel Brou & Michele Ruta, 2013. "Rent-Seeking, Market Structure, and Growth," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 115(3), pages 878-901, July.
    33. Liu, Dayong & Chen, Tong & Liu, Xiaoyang & Yu, Yongze, 2019. "Do more subsidies promote greater innovation? Evidence from the Chinese electronic manufacturing industry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 441-452.
    34. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    35. Bushman, Robert M. & Smith, Abbie J., 2001. "Financial accounting information and corporate governance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 237-333, December.
    36. Bargeron, Leonce L. & Lehn, Kenneth M. & Zutter, Chad J., 2010. "Sarbanes-Oxley and corporate risk-taking," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1-2), pages 34-52, February.
    37. Richard C. Levin & Alvin K. Klevorick & Richard R. Nelson & Sidney G. Winter, 1987. "Appropriating the Returns from Industrial Research and Development," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 18(3, Specia), pages 783-832.
    38. Holger Görg & Eric Strobl, 2007. "The Effect of R&D Subsidies on Private R&D," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 74(294), pages 215-234, May.
    39. Cheng, Mei & Dhaliwal, Dan & Zhang, Yuan, 2013. "Does investment efficiency improve after the disclosure of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 1-18.
    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. Zhang, Dongyang & Meng, Li & Zhang, Jintao, 2023. "Environmental subsidy disruption, skill premiums and ESG performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Deng, Ruijia & Luo, Jingwen & He, Bingzhuo, 2024. "Enterprise innovation efficiency and government subsidies: Perspectives based on international investment rules," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Wenjun Xie & Renxiang Wang, 2024. "Application of data elements in the coupling of finance and technology on the digital electronic platform," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 1435-1460, June.
    4. He, Siyi & Liu, Jinsong & Ying, Qianwei, 2023. "Externalities of government-oriented support for innovation: Evidence from the national innovative city pilot policy in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    5. Tang, Dapeng & Yu, Qian & Gebrehans, Mebrahtu Tesfagebreal & Wang, Lulu, 2023. "The asymmetric innovation effects of heterogeneous government subsidies: A new perspective from GDP target deviation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    6. Ruiyang Hu & Chen Yin & Zhijie Zheng & Sili Zhou, 2024. "Unlocking Innovation: The Impact of Free Trade Zones on Corporate Innovation in China," Working Papers 202414, University of Macau, Faculty of Business Administration.
    7. Zhang, Xiekui & Gong, Dayong & Huang, Yihan & Li, Yiting, 2024. "The Government's fiscal and taxation policy effect on enterprise productivity: Policy choice and optimal allocation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 28-41.
    8. Kumbhakar, Subal C. & Li, Mingyang & Lien, Gudbrand, 2023. "Do subsidies matter in productivity and profitability changes?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).

    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. 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.
    2. Xing Shi & Yanrui Wu & Dahai Fu & Xiumei Guo & Huaqing Wu, 2019. "Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 18(1), pages 207-236, Winter/Sp.
    3. Silva Filipe & Carreira Carlos, 2017. "Financial Constraints: Do They Matter to Allocate R&D Subsidies?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 17(4), pages 1-26, October.
    4. Thomas H. W. Ziesemer, 2021. "The Effects of R&D Subsidies and Publicly Performed R&D on Business R&D: A Survey," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 236(1), pages 171-205, March.
    5. Özçelik, Emre & Taymaz, Erol, 2008. "R&D support programs in developing countries: The Turkish experience," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 258-275, March.
    6. Xu, Zhe & Meng, Lu & He, Dan & Shi, Xiaoliang & Chen, Ke, 2022. "Government Support's signaling effect on credit financing for new-energy enterprises," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    7. Wang, Zhongcheng & Li, Xinyue & Xue, Xinhong & Liu, Yahuan, 2022. "More government subsidies, more green innovation? The evidence from Chinese new energy vehicle enterprises," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 11-21.
    8. Qi‐an Chen & Shuxiang Tang & Yuan Xu, 2022. "Do government subsidies and financing constraints play a dominant role in the effect of state ownership on corporate innovation? Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3698-3714, December.
    9. Beck, Mathias & Junge, Martin & Kaiser, Ulrich, 2017. "Public Funding and Corporate Innovation," IZA Discussion Papers 11196, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Bettina Becker, 2015. "Public R&D Policies And Private R&D Investment: A Survey Of The Empirical Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 917-942, December.
    11. Yang, Yan & Wang, Yuqian & Chen, Shou, 2022. "Do Investors Pay a Premium for Corporate Government Subsidy? Role of China's Strategic Emerging Industries Policy and Political Connections," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    12. Su, Zhong-qin & Xiao, Zuoping & Yu, Lin, 2019. "Do political connections enhance or impede corporate innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 94-110.
    13. Shiyuan Liu & Jiang Du & Weike Zhang & Xiaoli Tian, 2021. "Opening the box of subsidies: which is more effective for innovation?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(3), pages 421-449, September.
    14. Wang, Fangjun & Xu, Luying & Zhang, Junrui & Shu, Wei, 2018. "Political connections, internal control and firm value: Evidence from China's anti-corruption campaign," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 53-67.
    15. Kwangsoo Shin & Minkyung Choy & Chul Lee & Gunno Park, 2019. "Government R&D Subsidy and Additionality of Biotechnology Firms: The Case of the South Korean Biotechnology Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-22, March.
    16. Qiao, Lu & Fei, Junjun, 2022. "Government subsidies, enterprise operating efficiency, and “stiff but deathless” zombie firms," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    17. Roberto Gabriele & Anna Giunta, 2012. "R&D Incentives: The Effectiveness Of A Place-Based Policy," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0169, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    18. Guo, Di & Guo, Yan & Jiang, Kun, 2022. "Government R&D support and firms’ access to external financing: funding effects, certification effects, or both?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    19. Hud, Martin & Hussinger, Katrin, 2015. "The impact of R&D subsidies during the crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1844-1855.
    20. Tommy Clausen, 2008. "Do subsidies have positive impacts on R&D and innovation activities at the firm level?," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20070615, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation performance; Government subsidies; Internal control;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    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:eee:ecmode:v:120:y:2023:i:c:s0264999322003881. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30411 .

    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.