IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/portec/v18y2019i3d10.1007_s10258-019-00159-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Which projects are selected for an innovation subsidy? The Portuguese case

Author

Listed:
  • Anabela Santos

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles
    Universidade de Évora)

  • Michele Cincera

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

  • Paulo Neto

    (Universidade de Évora)

  • Maria Manuel Serrano

    (Universidade de Évora)

Abstract

Several empirical studies have analyzed which firm characteristics influence government evaluators in the decision to select specific firms to participate in Research and Development and Innovation subsidy programs. However, few authors have provided a precise analysis about the selection process of applications submitted for public support. The aim of the present article is to assess differences in investment project characteristics (expected impact) between firms with approved and non-approved applications and to understand which kinds of projects are selected for a subsidy. The analysis is focused on the case study of applications submitted to the Portuguese Innovation Incentive System (SI Innovation) between 2007 and 2013. The impact variables under study are those used in the selection procedure to grant the firm a subsidy, namely the expected impact on exports, value creation, productivity, patent application and qualified employment. Using a counterfactual analysis and Propensity Score Matching estimators, the results show that firms with approved applications are those that expect to invest more and forecast a higher increase in exports and productivity as the result of the investment project. However, these firms in comparison with the control group (those with non-approved applications) have investment projects with a lower contribution to growth and lower economic efficiency (return on investment in terms of productivity). The conclusions of this study could be useful for policy-makers since it provides evidence about firms’ strategic choice concerning investment projects submitted for an Innovation subsidy.

Suggested Citation

  • Anabela Santos & Michele Cincera & Paulo Neto & Maria Manuel Serrano, 2019. "Which projects are selected for an innovation subsidy? The Portuguese case," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 18(3), pages 165-202, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:portec:v:18:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s10258-019-00159-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10258-019-00159-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10258-019-00159-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10258-019-00159-y?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. Roberto Alvarez & Ricardo A. López, 2005. "Exporting and performance: evidence from Chilean plants," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(4), pages 1384-1400, November.
    2. 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.
    3. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    4. Anu Tokila & Mika Haapanen & Jari Ritsila, 2008. "Evaluation of investment subsidies: when is deadweight zero?," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(5), pages 585-600.
    5. Crepon, B. & Duguet, E. & Mairesse, J., 1998. "Research Investment, Innovation and Productivity: An Econometric Analysis at the Firm Level," Papiers d'Economie Mathématique et Applications 98.15, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    6. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen, 2004. "Why Some Firms Export," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 561-569, May.
    7. Bernini, Cristina & Pellegrini, Guido, 2011. "How are growth and productivity in private firms affected by public subsidy? Evidence from a regional policy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 253-265, May.
    8. Aschhoff Birgit, 2010. "Who Gets the Money?: The Dynamics of R&D Project Subsidies in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 230(5), pages 522-546, October.
    9. Giovanni Cerulli, 2022. "Econometric Evaluation of Socio-Economic Programs," Advanced Studies in Theoretical and Applied Econometrics, Springer, edition 2, number 978-3-662-65945-8, February.
    10. Dirk Czarnitzki & Cindy Lopes-Bento, 2014. "Innovation Subsidies: Does the Funding Source Matter for Innovation Intensity and Performance? Empirical Evidence from Germany," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(5), pages 380-409, July.
    11. Shahidur R. Khandker & Gayatri B. Koolwal & Hussain A. Samad, 2010. "Handbook on Impact Evaluation : Quantitative Methods and Practices," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2693.
    12. Armando Silva, 2010. "The role of subsidies for exports: Evidence for Portuguese manufacturing firms," FEP Working Papers 383, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    13. Lutfi Erden & Randall G. Holcombe, 2005. "The Effects of Public Investment on Private Investment in Developing Economies," Public Finance Review, , vol. 33(5), pages 575-602, September.
    14. Alberto Abadie & Guido W. Imbens, 2016. "Matching on the Estimated Propensity Score," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 84, pages 781-807, March.
    15. Greenaway, David & Guariglia, Alessandra & Kneller, Richard, 2007. "Financial factors and exporting decisions," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 377-395, November.
    16. Blanes, J. Vicente & Busom, Isabel, 2004. "Who participates in R&D subsidy programs?: The case of Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1459-1476, December.
    17. Anonymous, 1962. "Economic and Social Council," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 195-216, January.
    18. Emmanuel Duguet, 2004. "Are RαD subsidies a substitute or a complement to privately funded RαD ?. An econometric analysis at the firm level," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 114(2), pages 245-274.
    19. Fakih, Ali & Ghazalian, Pascal L., 2013. "Why Some Firms Export? An Empirical Analysis for Manufacturing Firms in the MENA Region," IZA Discussion Papers 7172, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Kenneth Arrow, 1962. "Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 609-626, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Cavallo, Eduardo & Daude, Christian, 2011. "Public investment in developing countries: A blessing or a curse?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 65-81, March.
    22. 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.
    23. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    24. Basile, Roberto, 2001. "Export behaviour of Italian manufacturing firms over the nineties: the role of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(8), pages 1185-1201, October.
    25. Anonymous, 1962. "Economic and Social Council," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 835-844, October.
    26. Anonymous, 1962. "Economic and Social Council," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 587-596, July.
    27. Isabel Busom, 2000. "An Empirical Evaluation of The Effects of R&D Subsidies," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 111-148.
    28. Lee, Neil & Sameen, Hiba & Cowling, Marc, 2015. "Access to finance for innovative SMEs since the financial crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 370-380.
    29. Teoman Pamukçu & Michele Cincera, 2001. "Analyse des déterminants de l'innovation technologique dans un Nouveau Pays Industrialisé : une étude économétrique sur données d'entreprises dans le secteur manufacturier turc," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 150(4), pages 139-158.
    30. Alessandra Canepa & Paul Stoneman, 2008. "Financial constraints to innovation in the UK: evidence from CIS2 and CIS3," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 60(4), pages 711-730, October.
    31. Hud, Martin & Hussinger, Katrin, 2015. "The impact of R&D subsidies during the crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1844-1855.
    32. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Fier, Andreas, 2002. "Do Innovation Subsidies Crowd Out Private Investment? Evidence from the German Service Sector," ZEW Discussion Papers 02-04, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    33. Bruno Crepon & Emmanuel Duguet & Jacques Mairesse, 1998. "Research, Innovation And Productivity: An Econometric Analysis At The Firm Level," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 115-158.
    34. Andrea Filippetti & Marion Frenz & Grazia Ietto-Gillies, 2011. "Are Innovation and Internationalization Related? An Analysis of European Countries," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(5), pages 437-459.
    35. Michele Cincera, 2003. "Financing constraints, fixed capital and R&D investment decisions of Belgian firms," Chapters, in: Paul Butzen & Catherine Fuss (ed.), Firms’ Investment and Finance Decisions, chapter 6, pages 129-152, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    36. Braunerhjelm, Pontus, 1996. "The relation between firm-specific intangibles and exports," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 213-219, November.
    37. Iulia Siedschlag & Xiaoheng Zhang, 2015. "Internationalisation of firms and their innovation and productivity," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 183-203, April.
    38. Simona Iammarino & Francesca Sanna-Randaccio & Maria Savona, 2009. "The perception of obstacles to innovation. Foreign multinationals and domestic firms in Italy," Revue d'économie industrielle, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(1), pages 75-104.
    39. Anabela Marques Santos & Michele Cincera, 2017. "Access to finance as a pressing problem: Evidence from innovative European firms," Working Papers TIMES² 2017-022, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    40. Scott J. Wallsten, 2000. "The Effects of Government-Industry R&D Programs on Private R&D: The Case of the Small Business Innovation Research Program," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 31(1), pages 82-100, Spring.
    41. Mariasole Bannò & Valentina Morandi & Celeste Amorim Varum, 2013. "Public policy for innovation and internationalization: are they worth it?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(10), pages 927-930, July.
    42. Sascha O. Becker & Andrea Ichino, 2002. "Estimation of average treatment effects based on propensity scores," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 2(4), pages 358-377, November.
    43. Conte, Andrea & Schweizer, Philip & Dierx, Adriaan & Ilzkovitz, Fabienne, 2009. "An analysis of the efficiency of public spending and national policies in the area of R&D," MPRA Paper 23549, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    44. Dimitris Skuras & Kostas Tsekouras & Efthalia Dimara & Dimitris Tzelepis, 2006. "The Effects of Regional Capital Subsidies on Productivity Growth: A Case Study of the Greek Food and Beverage Manufacturing Industry," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 355-381, May.
    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. Santos, Anabela M. & Cincera, Michele & Cerulli, Giovanni, 2024. "Sources of financing: Which ones are more effective in innovation–growth linkage?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(2).
    2. Qiuxiang Li & Xingli Chen & Yimin Huang & Huangbao Gui & Shengyang Liu, 2019. "The Impacts of Green Innovation Input and Channel Service in a Dual-Channel Value Chain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-26, November.
    3. Jugend, Daniel & Fiorini, Paula De Camargo & Armellini, Fabiano & Ferrari, Aline Gabriela, 2020. "Public support for innovation: A systematic review of the literature and implications for open innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Sónia Cabral & Maria Manuel Campos, 2023. "European structural funds and the performance of Portuguese firms," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.

    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. Anabela Santos & Michele Cincera & Paulo Neto & Maria Manuel Serrano, 2019. "How internationalization and competitiveness contribute to get public support to innovation? The Portuguese case," GEE Papers 0121, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised May 2019.
    2. Santos, Anabela, 2019. "Do selected firms show higher performance? The case of Portugal’s innovation subsidy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 39-50.
    3. Becker, Lasse & Bizer, Kilian, 2015. "Federalism and innovation support for small and medium-sized enterprises: Empirical evidence in Europe," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 245, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    4. Beom Cheol Cin & Young Jun Kim & Nicholas S. Vonortas, 2017. "The impact of public R&D subsidy on small firm productivity: evidence from Korean SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 345-360, February.
    5. Vlasova, Valeriya, 2021. "Industry-science cooperation and public policy instruments utilization in the private sector," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 519-528.
    6. Anabela Marques Santos & Michele Cincera, 2018. "Sharing The Risk Of Innovative Investment: Assessing The Effect Of A New European Financing Instrument," Working Papers TIMES² 2018-029, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    7. Ghisetti, Claudia, 2017. "Demand-pull and environmental innovations: Estimating the effects of innovative public procurement," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 178-187.
    8. 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.
    9. Chudnovsky, Daniel & López, Andrés & Rossi, Martín & Ubfal, Diego, 2006. "Evaluating a Program of Public Funding of Private Innovation Activities: An Econometric Study of FONTAR in Argentina," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 2829, Inter-American Development Bank.
    10. Syoum Negassi & Jean-Francois Sattin, 2014. "Evaluation of Public R&D Policy: A Meta-Regression Analysis," Working Papers 14-09, University of Delaware, Department of Economics.
    11. Anabela Santos & Michele Cincera, 2022. "Determinants of financing constraints," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1427-1439, March.
    12. González, Xulia & Pazó, Consuelo, 2008. "Do public subsidies stimulate private R&D spending?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 371-389, April.
    13. Michel Dumont, 2015. "Working Paper 05-15 - Evaluation of federal tax incentives for private R&D in Belgium: An update," Working Papers 1505, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.
    14. Hud, Martin & Hussinger, Katrin, 2015. "The impact of R&D subsidies during the crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1844-1855.
    15. Ugur, Mehmet & Trushin, Eshref & Solomon, Edna, 2015. "UK and EU subsidies and private R&D investment: Is there input additionality?," MPRA Paper 68009, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 16 Nov 2015.
    16. Dirk Crass & Christian Rammer & Birgit Aschhoff, 2019. "Geographical clustering and the effectiveness of public innovation programs," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 1784-1815, December.
    17. Bronzini, Raffaello & Piselli, Paolo, 2016. "The impact of R&D subsidies on firm innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 442-457.
    18. 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.
    19. Sonja Radas & Andrea Mervar & Bruno Škrinjarić, 2020. "Regional Perspective on R&D Policies for SMEs: Does Success Breed Success?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-25, May.
    20. Davide Antonioli & Alberto Marzucchi & Maria Savona, 2017. "Pain shared, pain halved? Cooperation as a coping strategy for innovation barriers," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 841-864, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Subsidy; Innovation; Selection procedure; Propensity score matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General

    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:spr:portec:v:18:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s10258-019-00159-y. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.