25 Years IWH

25 Jahre IWH
  1. About the IWH
  2. Team
  3. Economists

Dr Viktor Slavtchev

Dr Viktor Slavtchev
Current Position

since 1/15

Head of the Research Group Innovation, Productivity, and Economic Dynamics

Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

since 10/12

Economist in the Department of Structural Change and Productivity

Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

Research Interests
  • productivity, innovation, human capital, entrepreneurship
  • economic dynamics
  • regional economics, industrial economics
  • globalization

Viktor Slavtchev is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Structural Change and Productivity since 2012. He coordinates the research group "Innovation, Productivity, and Economic Dynamics"and is also a member of the executive committee of CompNet.

Viktor Slavtchev studied Economics at the Georg August University Goettingen. After graduation (Dipl-Volkswirt), he was a research fellow in the field of „Economic Policy“ and „Business Dynamics, Innovation and Economic Change“ at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena as well as in „Entrepreneurship, Public Policy and Growth“ at the Max Planck Institute of Economics in Jena. He received his doctoral degree in economics (Dr. rer. pol.) from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

Your contact

Dr Viktor Slavtchev
Dr Viktor Slavtchev
Mitglied - Department Structural Change and Productivity
Send Message +49 345 7753-743

Publications

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Support for Public Research Spin-offs by the Parent Organizations and the Speed of Commercialization

Viktor Slavtchev D. Göktepe-Hultén

in: The Journal of Technology Transfer, No. 6, 2016

Abstract

We empirically analyze whether support by the parent organization in the early (nascent and seed) stage speeds up the process of commercialization and helps spin-offs from public research organizations generate first revenues sooner. To identify the impact of support by the parent organization, we apply multivariate regression techniques as well as an instrumental variable approach. Our results show that support in the early stage by the parent organization can speed up commercialization. Moreover, we identify two distinct channels—the help in developing a business plan and in acquiring external capital—through which support by the parent organization can enable spin-offs to generate first revenues sooner.

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Does the Technological Content of Government Demand Matter for Private R&D? Evidence from US States

Viktor Slavtchev S. Wiederhold

in: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, No. 2, 2016

Abstract

Governments purchase everything from airplanes to zucchini. This paper investigates the role of the technological content of government procurement in innovation. In a theoretical model, we first show that a shift in the composition of public purchases toward high-tech products translates into higher economy-wide returns to innovation, leading to an increase in the aggregate level of private R&D. Using unique data on federal procurement in US states and performing panel fixed-effects estimations, we find support for the model's prediction of a positive R&D effect of the technological content of government procurement. Instrumental-variable estimations suggest a causal interpretation of our findings.

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Parent Universities and the Location of Academic Startups

S. Heblich Viktor Slavtchev

in: Small Business Economics, No. 1, 2014

Abstract

Academic startups are thought to locate in their parent university’s home region because geographic proximity to a university facilitates access to academic knowledge and resources. In this paper we analyze the importance of a different channel, namely social ties between academic entrepreneurs and university researchers, for the access to academic knowledge and resources, and therefore for the location of the startups. We employ unique data on academic startups from regions with more than one university and find that only the parent university influences academic entrepreneurs’ decisions to stay in the region while other universities in the same region play no role. Our findings suggest that geographic proximity to a university may not per se guarantee access to knowledge and resources; social contacts are additionally required. The importance of social ties implies that academic knowledge and resources are not necessarily local public goods. This holds implications for universities’ role in stimulating regional development.

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Working Papers

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TV and Entrepreneurship

Viktor Slavtchev Michael Wyrwich

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 17, 2017

Abstract

We empirically analyse whether television (TV) can influence entrepreneurial identity and incidence. To identify causal effects, we utilise a quasi-natural experiment setting. During the division of Germany after WWII into West Germany with a free-market economy and the socialistic East Germany with centrally-planned economy, some East German regions had access to West German public TV that – differently from the East German TV – transmitted images, values, attitudes and view of life compatible with the free-market economy principles and supportive of entrepreneurship. We show that during the 40 years of socialistic regime in East Germany entrepreneurship was highly regulated and virtually impossible and that the prevalent formal and informal institutions broke the traditional ties linking entrepreneurship to the characteristics of individuals so that there were hardly any differences in the levels and development of entrepreneurship between East German regions with and without West German TV signal. Using both, regional and individual level data, we show then that, for the period after the Unification in 1990 which made starting an own business in East Germany, possible again, entrepreneurship incidence is higher among the residents of East German regions that had access to West German public TV, indicating that TV can, while transmitting specific images, values, attitudes and view of life, directly impact on the entrepreneurial mindset of individuals. Moreover, we find that young individuals born after 1980 in East German households that had access to West German TV are also more entrepreneurial. These findings point to second-order effects due to inter-personal and inter-generational transmission, a mechanism that can cause persistent differences in the entrepreneurship incidence across (geographically defined) population groups.

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Support for Public Research Spin-offs by the Parent Organizations and the Speed of Commercialization

Viktor Slavtchev D. Göktepe-Hultén

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 16, 2015
published in: The Journal of Technology Transfer

Abstract

We empirically analyze whether support by the parent organization in the early (nascent and seed) stage speeds up the process of commercialization and helps spin-offs from public research organizations generate first revenues sooner. To identify the impact of support by the parent organization, we apply multivariate regression techniques as well as an instrumental variable approach. Our results show that support in the early stage by the parent organization can speed up commercialization. Moreover, we identify two distinct channels - the help in developing a business plan and in acquiring external capital - through which support by the parent organization can enable spin-offs to generate first revenues sooner.

read publication
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Does the Technological Content of Government Demand Matter for Private R&D? Evidence from US States

Viktor Slavtchev S. Wiederhold

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 10, 2014
published in: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics

Abstract

Governments purchase everything from airplanes to zucchini. This paper investigates the role of the technological content of government procurement in innovation. We theoretically show that a shift in the composition of public purchases toward high-tech products translates into higher economy-wide returns to innovation, leading to an increase in the aggregate level of private research and development (R&D). Collecting unique panel data on federal procurement in US states, we find that reshuffling procurement toward high-tech industries has an economically and statistically significant positive effect on private R&D, even after extensively controlling for other R&D determinants. Instrumental-variable estimations support a causal interpretation of our findings.

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Browse all working papers

Related Topics

Productivity Innovations Startups Policy Evaluation Econometrics
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