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Corporate R&D and productivity in Germany and the United Kingdom

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  • Bond, Stephen
  • Harhoff, Dietmar
  • Van Reenen, John

Abstract

This paper analyzes differences in R&D spending and in the impact of R&D on productivity between German and UK firms. We confirm that German firms spend significantly larger amounts on R&D than their UK counterparts, even after controlling for firm size and industry effects. Using a dynamic production function approach, we find that the R&D output elasticity is approximately the same in both countries, implying a much larger rate of return on R&D in the UK than in Germany. We discuss several explanations for this result.

Suggested Citation

  • Bond, Stephen & Harhoff, Dietmar & Van Reenen, John, 2003. "Corporate R&D and productivity in Germany and the United Kingdom," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 770, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:770
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ugur, Mehmet & Trushin, Eshref & Solomon, Edna & Guidi, Francesco, 2016. "R&D and productivity in OECD firms and industries: A hierarchical meta-regression analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 2069-2086.
    3. Mark Rogers, 2006. "R&D and Productivity in the UK: evidence from firm-level data in the 1990s," Economics Series Working Papers 255, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Mairesse, Jacques & Mohnen, Pierre, 2010. "Measuring the Returns to R&D," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1033-1082, Elsevier.
    5. Jarle Møen & Helge Sandvig Thorsen, 2017. "Publication Bias in the Returns to R&D Literature," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(3), pages 987-1013, September.
    6. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Oriani, Raffaele, 2006. "Does the market value R&D investment by European firms? Evidence from a panel of manufacturing firms in France, Germany, and Italy," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 971-993, September.
    7. Constant Djama & Guillaume Dumas & Isabelle Martinez, 2011. "L'innovation : une incitation à la gestion des résultats ?," Post-Print hal-00650418, HAL.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate governance; R&D; productivity; financial constraints; panel data.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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