[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ekd/006356/6873.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Impact of research tax credit on R&D and innovation: evidence from the 2008 French reform

Author

Listed:
  • Loriane Py
  • Antoine Bozio
  • Delphine Irac
Abstract
R&D and innovation are seen as key determinants of productivity and competitiveness and it has been recognized that the low growth performances of EU countries of the last decades can largely be attributable to their poor research performance, as compared to the US. As a consequence, most EU countries, in particular since the adoption of the Lisbon strategy, have provided tax incentives to increase business R&D, which still remains below the targeted level of 2% of GDP. In the actual context of large public deficit and given the amount of public spending involved, it is crucial to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of these policies. The aim of this paper is to contribute to this literature by evaluating the impact of the research tax credit system on both R&D investments and innovation. In our empirical analysis, we focus on the 2008 French reform, which was marked by the adoption of a pure volume-based scheme.Our empirical analysis relies on an ex post econometric evaluation of the 2008 reform. It is based on the combination of four datasets over the period 2004-2010: i) the yearly survey on R&D investments conducted by the French Ministry of Research which contains detailed information on firms' R&D, ii) the PATSTAT dataset of the European Patent Office which enables us to measure innovation at the firm-level (as measured by a count of the number of patents) iii) the tax files which enables us to identify all the firms in France which benefit from the research tax credit as well as it amount, and iv) the FIBEN dataset of the Banque de France which is used to control for firms' economic and financial characteristics. Our final sample includes 48,111 firms, from which 51.3% have taken advantage of the research tax credit. Our econometric strategy relies on the implementation of a difference in difference which amounts to comparing R&D and innovation outcome for firms which benefit from the research tax credit and for those which do not, before and after the implementation of the reform. The fact that each year in France, nearly 49% of firms which are registered in the R&D survey and which have positive R&D expenditures do not ask for the research tax credit can have several explanations: firms might not be aware of the policy, their R&D activities might not be eligible to the tax credit, asking for the research tax credit might be too complex and costly or firms might want to avoid a tax audit. Nevertheless, as we cannot exclude the possibility of a selection bias in the sample of treated and control firms, we also implemented propensity score matching analysis and are currently trying to refine our empirical strategy by using the suppression of the research tax credit ceiling. Our preliminary results suggest that firms which did benefit from the R&D tax credit relative to those that did not ask for it have significantly increased their R&D expenditures after the 2008 reform. Our results also show that the estimated elasticity differs when we focus on the intensive margin (i.e. when the sample is limited to firms which already ask for the research tax credit before the reform) as the reform led to a large number of firm entry in the tax credit scheme which are relatively smaller in terms of R&D investments. More importantly, we do not find evidence of a significant impact on innovation as measured by the number of patents at the firm level, up to 2 years after the implementation of the reform. Though the time span of analysis is short and that patenting can take more years, these preliminary results suggest that the effects of research tax credit on innovation might be more limited than expected. Finally, our results enable us to shed light on the relative effectiveness of the volume scheme as compared to the incremental one.

Suggested Citation

  • Loriane Py & Antoine Bozio & Delphine Irac, 2014. "Impact of research tax credit on R&D and innovation: evidence from the 2008 French reform," EcoMod2014 6873, EcoMod.
    • Handle: RePEc:ekd:006356:6873
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ecomod.net/system/files/Bozio_Irac_Py_ECOMOD.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bloom, Nick & Griffith, Rachel & Van Reenen, John, 2002. "Do R&D tax credits work? Evidence from a panel of countries 1979-1997," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 1-31, July.
    2. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias, 2009. "Alternative Approaches to Evaluation in Empirical Microeconomics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
    3. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Hanel, Petr & Rosa, Julio Miguel, 2011. "Evaluating the impact of R&D tax credits on innovation: A microeconometric study on Canadian firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 217-229, March.
    4. Benoît Mulkay & Jacques Mairesse, 2013. "The R&D tax credit in France: assessment and ex ante evaluation of the 2008 reform," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 65(3), pages 746-766, July.
    5. Emmanuel Duguet, 2012. "The effect of the incremental R&D tax credit on the private funding of R&D an econometric evaluation on french firm level data," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 122(3), pages 405-435.
    6. Raffo, Julio & Lhuillery, Stéphane, 2009. "How to play the "Names Game": Patent retrieval comparing different heuristics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1617-1627, December.
    7. Boris Lokshin & Pierre Mohnen, 2012. "How effective are level-based R&D tax credits? Evidence from the Netherlands," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(12), pages 1527-1538, April.
    8. David, Paul A. & Hall, Bronwyn H. & Toole, Andrew A., 2000. "Is public R&D a complement or substitute for private R&D? A review of the econometric evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 497-529, April.
    9. Cappelen, Ådne & Raknerud, Arvid & Rybalka, Marina, 2012. "The effects of R&D tax credits on patenting and innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 334-345.
    10. Ientile, Damien & Mairesse, Jacques, 2009. "A policy to boost R&D: Does the R&D tax credit work?," EIB Papers 6/2009, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    11. Hall, Bronwyn & Van Reenen, John, 2000. "How effective are fiscal incentives for R&D? A review of the evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 449-469, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Les crédits d’impôt stimulent-ils la recherche-développement ?
      by ? in D'un champ l'autre on 2015-01-19 18:36:00

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elina Ladinska & Marielle Non & Bas Straathof, 2015. "More R&D with tax incentives? A meta-analysis," CPB Discussion Paper 309, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    2. Elina Ladinska & Marielle Non & Bas Straathof, 2015. "More R&D with tax incentives? A meta-analysis," CPB Discussion Paper 309.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    3. Laurence Jacquet & Stéphane Robin, 2021. "R&D Tax Credits across the European Union:Divergences and convergence," THEMA Working Papers 2021-14, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    4. Benjamin Montmartin & Marcos Herrera & Nadine Massard, 2015. "R&D Policies in France: New Evidence from a NUTS3 Spatial Analysis," GREDEG Working Papers 2015-26, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    5. David N. Margolis & Egidio Luis Miotti, 2021. "Why Do French Engineers Find Stable Jobs Faster than PhDs?," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 72(4), pages 555-589.
    6. Alessandro Sterlacchini & Francesco Venturini, 2019. "R&D tax incentives in EU countries: does the impact vary with firm size?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 687-708, October.
    7. Emmanuel Chavez, 2020. "The Effects of R&D Tax Credits and Subsidies onPrivate R&D in Mexico (Chapter 2)," Working Papers halshs-02652063, HAL.
    8. Benjamin Montmartin & Marcos Herrera & Nadine Massard, 2017. "R&D Policy regimes in France: New Evidence from a spatio-temporal Analysis," GREDEG Working Papers 2017-22, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    9. Pierre Möhnen, 2017. "Comment: Effectiveness of public support for R&D and entrepreneurship," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 493, pages 43-48.
    10. Chih‐Hai Yang & Chia‐Hui Huang & Wei‐Hsuan Chang, 2021. "Does Reduction In The Tax Credit Rate Retard R&D Activity? Evidence From Taiwan'S R&D Tax Credit Reform In 2010," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(2), pages 398-415, April.
    11. Vincent Dortet-Bernadet & Michaël Sicsic, 2017. "The effect of R&D subsidies and tax incentives on employment: an evaluation for small firms in France," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 493, pages 5-22.
    12. Heike Belitz, 2015. "Steuerliche Förderung von Forschung und Entwicklung: Erfahrungen aus dem Ausland," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 85, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Konstantins Benkovskis & Oļegs Tkačevs & Naomitsu Yashiro & Beata Javorcik, 2019. "Importance of EU regional support programmes for firm performance," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 34(98), pages 267-313.
    14. Oliver Falck & Anna Kerkhof & Christian Pfaffl, 2023. "Taxation and Innovation: How R&D Tax Credit Schemes Foster Innovation in the Private Sector," EconPol Forum, CESifo, vol. 24(04), pages 61-66, July.
    15. Pöschel, Carla, 2020. "Incentive Effects of R&D Tax Incentives: A Meta-Analysis Focusing on R&D Tax Policy Designs," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 243, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre, revised 2020.
    16. Blandinieres, Florence & Steinbrenner, Daniela, 2021. "How does the evolution of R&D tax incentives schemes impact their effectiveness? Evidence from a meta-analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-020, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Pfeiffer, Olena & Spengel, Christoph, 2017. "Tax incentives for research and development and their use in tax planning," ZEW Discussion Papers 17-046, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    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. Castellacci, Fulvio & Lie, Christine Mee, 2015. "Do the effects of R&D tax credits vary across industries? A meta-regression analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 819-832.
    2. Alessandro Sterlacchini & Francesco Venturini, 2019. "R&D tax incentives in EU countries: does the impact vary with firm size?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 687-708, October.
    3. Beck, Mathias & Junge, Martin & Kaiser, Ulrich, 2017. "Public Funding and Corporate Innovation," IZA Discussion Papers 11196, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Emmanuel Chavez, 2020. "The Effects of R&D Tax Credits and Subsidies onPrivate R&D in Mexico (Chapter 2)," PSE Working Papers halshs-02652063, HAL.
    5. Knoll, Bodo & Riedel, Nadine & Schwab, Thomas & Todtenhaupt, Maximilian & Voget, Johannes, 2021. "Cross-border effects of R&D tax incentives," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    6. Labeaga, José M. & Martínez-Ros, Ester & Sanchis, Amparo & Sanchis, Juan A., 2021. "Does persistence in using R&D tax credits help to achieve product innovations?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    7. 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.
    8. Dai, Xiaoyong & Chapman, Gary, 2022. "R&D tax incentives and innovation: Examining the role of programme design in China," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    9. Irem Guceri & Li Liu, 2019. "Effectiveness of Fiscal Incentives for R&D: Quasi-experimental Evidence," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 266-291, February.
    10. Vincent Dortet-Bernadet & Michaël Sicsic, 2017. "The effect of R&D subsidies and tax incentives on employment: an evaluation for small firms in France," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 493, pages 5-22.
    11. Zhao, Chuanmin & Qu, Xi & Luo, Shougui, 2019. "Impact of the InnoCom program on corporate innovation performance in China: Evidence from Shanghai," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 103-118.
    12. Cameron Hepburn & Jacquelyn Pless & David Popp, 2018. "Policy Brief—Encouraging Innovation that Protects Environmental Systems: Five Policy Proposals," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 12(1), pages 154-169.
    13. Daniel Gama e Colombo, 2016. "Impact Assessment of Tax Incentives to Foster Industrial Innovation in Brazil: The Case of Law 11,196/05," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2016_30, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    14. Elina Ladinska & Marielle Non & Bas Straathof, 2015. "More R&D with tax incentives? A meta-analysis," CPB Discussion Paper 309.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    15. Marc Cowling, 2016. "You can lead a firm to R&D but can you make it innovate? UK evidence from SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 565-577, April.
    16. Takalo, Tuomas & Tanayama, Tanja & Toivanen, Otto, 2013. "Market failures and the additionality effects of public support to private R&D: Theory and empirical implications," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 634-642.
    17. Tim Buyse & Freddy Heylen & Ruben Schoonackers, 2015. "On The Role Of Public Policies And Wage Formation For Private Investment In R&D: A Long-Run Panel Analysis," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 15/911, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    18. 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.
    19. Aristei, David & Sterlacchini, Alessandro & Venturini, Francesco, 2015. "The effects of public supports on business R&D: firm-level evidence across EU countries," MPRA Paper 64611, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Isabel Bodas Freitas & Fulvio Castellacci & Roberto Fontana & Franco Malerba & Andrea Vezzulli, 2015. "The additionality effects of R&D tax credits across sectors: A cross-country microeconometric analysis," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20150424, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    France; Tax policy; Impact and scenario analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ekd:006356:6873. 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: Theresa Leary (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ecomoea.html .

    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.