R&D Cooperation with Scientific Institutions: A Difference-in-difference Approach
Gunnar Pippel, V. Seefeld
Economics of Innovation and New Technology,
No. 5,
2016
Abstract
Economists and business managers have long been interested in the impact of research and development (R&D) cooperation with scientific institutions on the innovation performance of firms. Recent research identifies a positive correlation between these two variables. This paper aims to contribute to the identification of the relationship between R&D cooperation with scientific institutions and the product and process innovation performance of firms by using a difference-in-difference approach. In doing so, we distinguish between two different types of scientific institutions: universities and governmental research institutes. For the econometric analyses, we use data from the German Community Innovation Survey. In total, data from up to 560 German service and manufacturing firms are available for the difference-in-difference analyses. The results suggest that R&D cooperation with universities and governmental research institutes has a positive effect on both product innovation and process innovation performance of firms.
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Do Manufacturing Firms Benefit from Services FDI? – Evidence from Six New EU Member States
J. Damijan, Crt Kostevc, Philipp Marek, Matija Rojec
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 5,
2015
Abstract
This paper focuses on the effect of foreign presence in the services sector on the productivity growth of downstream customers in the manufacturing sector in six EU new member countries in the course of their accession to the European Union. For this purpose, the analysis combines firm-level information, data on economic structures and annual national input-output tables. The findings suggest that services FDI may enhance productivity of manufacturing firms in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries through vertical forward spillovers, and thereby contribute to their competitiveness. The consideration of firm characteristics shows that the magnitude of spillover effects depends on size, ownership structure, and initial productivity level of downstream firms as well as on the diverging technological intensity across sector on the supply and demand side. The results suggest that services FDI foster productivity of domestic rather than foreign controlled firms in the host economy. For the period between 2003 and 2008, the findings suggest that the increasing share of services provided by foreign affiliates enhanced the productivity growth of domestic firms in manufacturing by 0.16%. Furthermore, the firms’ absorptive capability and the size reduce the spillover effect of services FDI on the productivity of manufacturing firms. A sectoral distinction shows that firms at the end of the value chain experience a larger productivity growth through services FDI, whereas the aggregate positive effect seems to be driven by FDI in energy supply. This does not hold for science-based industries, which are spurred by foreign presence in knowledge-intensive business services.
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Agglomeration and FDI in East German Knowledge-intensive Business Services
Philipp Marek
Economia Politica,
No. 3,
2012
Abstract
The focus of this article is the empirical identification of factors influencing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) sector on the regional level of «Raumordnungsregionen» in East Germany. The analysis focuses on the impact of regional agglomeration and technological capability on the location decision of foreign investors and West German MNEs. It shows that localisation, patent activity and the share of employees with an R&D occupation affect significantly the location decision of FDI. This result provides an explanation for the strong concentration of KIBS in urban areas in a post-transition economy.
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The Determinants of Inward Foreign Direct Investment in Business Services Across European Regions
Davide Castellani
Finanza e Statistica 104/2012,
2012
Abstract
The paper accounts for the determinants of inward foreign direct investment in business services across the EU-27 regions. Together with the traditional variables considered in the literature (market size, market quality, agglomeration economies, labour cost, technology, human capital), we focus on the role of forward linkages with manufacturing sectors and other service sectors as
attractors of business services FDI at the regional level. This hypothesis is based on the evidence that the growth of business services is mostly due to increasing intermediate demand by other services industries and by manufacturing industries and on the importance of geographical proximity for forward linkages in services.
To our knowledge, there are no studies investigating the role of forward linkages for the location of FDI. This paper aims therefore to fill this gap and add to the FDI literature by providing a picture of the specificities of the determinants of FDI in business services at the regional level. The empirical analysis draws upon the database fDi Markets, from which we selected projects having as a destination NUTS 2 European regions in the sectors of Business services over the period 2003-2008. Data on FDI have been matched with data drawn from the Eurostat Regio
database. Forward linkages have been constructed using the OECD Input/Output database. By estimating a negative binomial model, we find that regions specialised in those (manufacturing) sectors that are high potential users of business services attract more FDI than other regions. This confirms the role of forward linkages for the localisation of business service FDI, particularly in the case of manufacturing.
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Towards Unrestricted Public Use Business Microdata: The Synthetic Longitudinal Business Database
John M. Abowd, Ron S. Jarmin, Satkartar K. Kinney, Javier Miranda, Jerome P. Reiter, Arnold P. Reznek
International Statistical Review,
No. 3,
2011
Abstract
In most countries, national statistical agencies do not release establishment-level business microdata, because doing so represents too large a risk to establishments’ confidentiality. One approach with the potential for overcoming these risks is to release synthetic data; that is, the released establishment data are simulated from statistical models designed to mimic the distributions of the underlying real microdata. In this article, we describe an application of this strategy to create a public use file for the Longitudinal Business Database, an annual economic census of establishments in the United States comprising more than 20 million records dating back to 1976. The U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Internal Revenue Service recently approved the release of these synthetic microdata for public use, making the synthetic Longitudinal Business Database the first-ever business microdata set publicly released in the United States. We describe how we created the synthetic data, evaluated analytical validity, and assessed disclosure risk.
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Human Capital Investment, New Firm Creation and Venture Capital
Merih Sevilir
Journal of Financial Intermediation,
No. 4,
2010
Abstract
This paper studies the relation between firm investment in general human capital, new firm creation and financial development for new firm financing, such as the existence of a venture capital industry. On one hand, firm investment in general human capital leads employees to generate new innovative ideas for starting their own firm. Since employees need a venture capitalist to start their new firm, firm investment in general human capital encourages the creation of venture capitalists by increasing the need for their services, such as providing advice and monitoring. On the other hand, as new firm financing becomes available, firms' willingness to invest in general human capital increases, and as a by-product, the creation of employee-founded and venture capital-backed new firms increases in the economy. Hence, our model provides a rational explanation for the emergence of new firms created by employees of established firms, which represents one of the most common type of new firms in many industries.
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Yes to Investments by Public Authorities for the Future! But Business Cycle will no Longer be Saved by it!
Hans-Ulrich Brautzsch, Brigitte Loose, Udo Ludwig
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 3,
2009
Abstract
In order to mitigate the effects of the deep economic recession, the German federal government has adopted two economic stimulus packages to be applied in the period from 2009 to 2010. According to our estimations, these programs include investments amounting to 25.3 billion Euros mainly in infrastructure and education. We investigate the total effects of these investments on production and employment using a static input-output model. We find that the gross domestic product will increase by at most one percentage point, namely 0.4 points in 2009 and 0.7 points in 2010. This implies that approximately 400 000 jobs will be safeguarded. About one quarter of the effects will concern construction and business services respectively. For several reasons, our calculations constitute the upper bound to the expected effects. The increasing demand in construction could lead to significantly increasing prices. In light of the expected decline in production, the economic effects of the programs may appear to be low. Obviously, the strong decrease in external demand and its impact on the economy cannot be effectively combated by instruments of national economic policies.
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Low Wages in the Service Sector in Eastern Germany: Extent and Reasons
Joachim Wilde, Christian Keller
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 11,
2008
Abstract
In recent years, employment has grown noticeably in Germany. Although this is good news, some people criticize that many jobs are low-paid, i.e. the wage is less than two thirds of the medium wage. An eye-catching example is the service sector in Eastern Germany. However, a systematic analysis of this sector in Eastern Germany is missing until now. The article closes this gap in the literature.
Concerning the whole service sector in Eastern Germany, about 25 percent of the employees get a low (gross) wage. This is not much more than the average of all sectors. However, in some branches of the service sector, much more employees get low wages. More than 40% of the employees of retail trade, restaurant business and services near to companies (“unternehmensnahe Dienstleistungen”) are paid low. The probability to get a low wage is significantly higher for women and the so-called minijobbers.
Since the tax system adjusts differences, all calculations were also done for net wages. On the one hand, the part of low-paid workers decreases for all branches and all subpopulations. On the other hand, the probability to get a low wage does not differ anymore between minijobbers and full-time employees. Thus, the tax system does not only reduce low-paid employment, it also changes its structure.
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The Great Risk Shift? Income Volatility in an International Perspective
Claudia M. Buch
CESifo Working Paper No. 2465,
2008
Abstract
Weakening bargaining power of unions and the increasing integration of the world economy may affect the volatility of capital and labor incomes. This paper documents and explains changes in income volatility. Using a theoretical framework which builds distribution risk into a real business cycle model, hypotheses on the determinants of the relative volatility of capital and labor are derived. The model is tested using industry-level data. The data cover 11 industrialized countries, 22 manufacturing and services industries, and a maximum of 35 years. The paper has four main findings. First, the unconditional volatility of labor and capital incomes has declined, reflecting the decline in macroeconomic volatility. Second, the idiosyncratic component of income volatility has hardly changed over time. Third, crosssectional heterogeneity in the evolution of relative income volatilities is substantial. If anything, the labor incomes of high- and low-skilled workers have become more volatile in relative terms. Fourth, income volatility is related to variables measuring the bargaining power of workers. Trade openness has no significant impact.
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Firm Density in East Germany: Findings from the Business Register
Gerhard Heimpold
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 10,
2008
Abstract
The contribution focuses on the business density in East Germany in comparison with West Germany. For the purpose of the investigation, a new information source was used – the so-called Business Register. Business density in East Germany is of relevance for two reasons: First, when the wall came down in 1989, the East German economy suffered from the lack of private firms. Second, after 2000, a gap in terms of work places is still existent. The empirical data on business density in East Germany do not reveal an unequivocal picture. Measuring business density by comparing the number of firms with the respective number of population reveals a gap in terms of the number of businesses per 10 000 inhabitants in East Germany. The gap is above average with respect to firms in the manufacturing sector, and it is particularly high regarding larger manufacturing firms. Measuring the business density as a quota of the number of firms and the volume of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reveals a reverse picture: The business density in relation to GDP is on average higher in comparison with the respective value in West Germany. Maybe, the size of the East German market sets limits regarding the number of firms which may act there. However, the size of the domestic market is not so relevant for the firms belonging to the manufacturing sector and to the business-related services since they are expanding to a large extent due to their export activities. Though from the manufacturing sector, relativly positive development perspectives can be expected, the number of large firms per 10 000 inhabitants is relatively low in comparison with West Germany. Public support for strengthening the business landscape in the East German manufacturing sector remains on the agenda of economic policy in Germany.
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