The Effectiveness of Investment Subsidies: Evidence from Survey Data

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of subsidies on the investment decisions of a sample of Italian manufacturing firms. We use survey information on firms' subjective evaluations of the investment they would have undertaken without financing, finding that subsidies have limited effectiveness as a stimulus. Without subsidies, three-quarters of the firms financed would have made the same amount of investment at the same date; most of the remaining firms would have made the same amount of investment at a future date.

Keywords: investment incentives, survey data

JEL Classification: R0, H2, C8