Bounding the Effects of R & D: An Investigation Using Matched Establishment-Firm Data
RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, Vol. 27, No. 4
Posted: 5 Feb 1998
Abstract
We find that the effects of parent firm R & D on plant-level productivity are diminished by both the geographic and technological distance between the research lab and the plants, that productivity appears to depend on R & D per plant rather than on the total amount, and that spillovers from technologically related firms are significant but also depend on R & D intensity rather than on total industry R & D. These results suggest that the "dilution" of R & D across multiple target plants reduces its potency sufficiently that spillovers may not be a source of industrywide or economywide increasing returns.
JEL Classification: L1, O3
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation