Jose Garcia-Quevedo

Barriers to Innovation and Public Policy in Catalonia

The present paper analyses the link between firms’ decisions to innovate and the barriers that prevent them from being innovative. The aim is twofold. First, it analyses three groups of barriers to innovation: the cost of innovation projects, lack of knowledge and market conditions. Second, it presents the main steps taken by Catalan Government to promote the creation of new firms and to reduce barriers to innovation. The data set used is based on the 2004 official innovation survey of Catalonia which was taken from the Spanish CIS-4 sample. This sample includes individual information on 2,954 Catalan firms in manufacturing industries and knowledge-intensive services (KIS). The empirical analysis reveals pronounced differences regarding a firm’s propensity to innovate and its perception of barriers. Moreover, the results show that cost and knowledge barriers seem to be the most important and that there are substantial sectoral differences in the way that firms react to barriers. The results of this paper have important implications for the design of future public policy to promote entrepreneurship and innovation together.

Assessing the assignation of public subsidies: Do the experts choose the most efficient R&D projects?

espanolLa implementacion de un programa de subvenciones publicas a proyectos empresariales de I+D comporta establecer un sistema de seleccion de proyectos. Esta seleccion se enfrenta a problemas relevantes, como son la medicion del posible rendimiento de los proyectos de I+D y la optimizacion del proceso de seleccion entre proyectos con multiples y a veces incomparables medidas de resultados. Las agencias publicas utilizan mayoritariamente el metodo peer review que, aunque presenta ventajas, no esta exento de criticas. En cambio, las empresas privadas con el objetivo de optimizar su inversion en I+D utilizan metodos mas cuantitativos, como el Data Envelopment Analisis (DEA). En este trabajo se compara la actuacion de los evaluadores de una agencia publica (peer review) con una metodologia alternativa de seleccion de proyectos como es el DEA. EnglishThe implementation of public programs to support business R&D projects requires the establishment of a selection process. This selection process faces various difficulties, which include the measurement of the impact of the R&D projects as well as selection process optimization among projects with multiple, and sometimes incomparable, performance indicators. To this end, public agencies generally use the peer review method, which, while presenting some advantages, also demonstrates significant drawbacks. Private firms, on the other hand, tend toward more quantitative methods, such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), in their pursuit of R&D investment optimization. In this paper, the performance of a public agency peer review method of project selection is compared with an alternative DEA method.

The Link between Public Support and Private R&D Effort: What is the Optimal Subsidy?

The effectiveness of R&D subsidies can vary substantially depending on their characteristics. Specifically, the amount and intensity of such subsidies are crucial issues in the design of public schemes supporting private R&D. Public agencies determine the intensities of R&D subsidies for firms in line with their eligibility criteria, although assessing the effects of R&D projects accurately is far from straightforward. The main aim of this paper is to examine whether there is an optimal intensity for R&D subsidies through an analysis of their impact on private R&D effort. We examine the decisions of a public agency to grant subsidies taking into account not only the characteristics of the firms but also, as few previous studies have done to date, those of the R&D projects. In determining the optimal subsidy we use both parametric and nonparametric techniques. The results show a non-linear relationship between the percentage of subsidy received and the firms’ R&D effort. These results have implications for technology policy, particularly for the design of R&D subsidies that ensure enhanced effectiveness.

Effects of university research on the geography of innovation

Del Barrio-Castro T. and García-Quevedo J. (2005) Effects of university research on the geography of innovation, Regional Studies 39 , 1217–1229. Applied studies on the relationship between geography and technological innovation for the USA, Germany, France and Italy have shown the positive effects that academic research exerts on the innovative output of firms at a spatial level. The purpose of this paper is to look for new evidence on the possible effects of university research for the case of Spanish regions. Within the framework of a Griliches–Jaffe knowledge production function, and using panel data and count models, the relationship between innovative inputs and patents is explored. The results show that university research exerts a positive influence on the regional distribution of private innovation of high-technological content.

The Determinants of University Patenting: Do Incentives Matter?

In recent years various studies have examined the factors that may explain academic patents. Existing analyses have also underlined the substantial differences to be found in European countries in the institutional framework that defines property rights for academic patents. The objective of this study is to contribute to the empirical literature on the factors explaining academic patents and to determine whether the incentives that universities offer researchers contribute towards explaining the differences in academic patenting activity. The results of the econometric analysis for the Spanish universities point towards the conclusion that the principal factor determining the patents is funding of R&D while royalty incentives to researchers do not appear to be significant.

Which Firms Want PhDs? The Effect of the University-Industry Relationship on the PhD Labour Market

PhD graduates hold the highest education degree, are trained to conduct research and can be considered a key element in the creation, commercialization and diffusion of innovations. The impact of PhDs on innovation and economic development takes place through several channels such as the accumulation of scientific capital stock, the enhancement of technology transfers and the promotion of cooperation relationships in innovation processes. Although the placement of PhDs in industry provides a very important mechanism for transmitting knowledge from universities to firms, information about the characteristics of the firms that employ PhDs is very scarce. The goal of this paper is to improve understanding of the determinants of the demand for PhDs in the private sector. Three main potential determinants of the demand for PhDs are considered: cooperation between firms and universities, R&D activities of firms and several characteristics of firms, size, sector, productivity and age. The results from the econometric analysis show that cooperation between firms and universities encourages firms to recruit PhDs and point to the existence of accumulative effects in the hiring of PhD graduates.

Financial Constraints and the Failure of Innovation Projects

Theoretical and empirical approaches have stressed the existence of financial constraints in innovative activities of firms. This paper analyses the role of financial obstacles on the likelihood of abandoning an innovation project. Although a large number of innovation projects are abandoned before their completion, the empirical evidence has focused on the determinants of innovation while failed projects have received little attention. Our analysis differentiates between internal and external barriers on the probability of abandoning a project and we examine whether the effects are different depending on the stage of the innovation process. In the empirical analysis carried out for a panel data of potential innovative Spanish firms for the period 2004-2010, we use a bivariate probit model to take into account the simultaneity of financial constraints and the decision to abandon an innovation project. Our results show that financial constraints most affect the probability of abandoning an innovation project during the concept stage and that low-technological manufacturing and non-KIS service sectors are more sensitive to financial constraints.

R&D Drivers and Obstacles to Innovation in the Energy Industry

The energy industry is facing substantial challenges that require innovation to be fostered. Nevertheless, levels of R&D investment and innovation remain quite low in comparison with other sectors. In this paper we analyse the main drivers of R&D investment and obstacles to innovation in the energy industry. We examine, firstly, whether the stated R&D objectives pursued by firms play a role in their R&D effort. Secondly, we analyse the effects of financial, knowledge and market barriers on the innovation outcomes of the firms. We rely on data from the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for Spanish firms for the period 2003-2010. We use a structural model with three equations corresponding to the decision to carry out R&D or not, the R&D effort and the production of innovations. The results of the econometric estimations show, first, that R&D intensity is positively related to process innovation. Second, the main barriers that hamper innovation in the energy industry are related to market factors while financial and knowledge obstacles are not significant.

Public subsidies to business R & D: do they stimulate private expenditures?

The purpose of this paper is to obtain new evidence about a fundamental question of empirical studies on technology policy. Is public R&D a complement to or a substitute for private R&D? We examine, at an industry level, the relationship between private R&D expenditures and public subsidies in Spain, using panel data and controlling the interindustry differences in technological opportunities. The results suggest that public subsidies have complemented private R&D. This is an interesting result because technology policy was reoriented in the 1990s with a reduction of direct government subsidies for R&D and an increase in tax incentives.

What types of firms acquire knowledge intensive services and from which suppliers

Knowledge intensive services and, in particular, R&D services contribute significantly to innovation in firms. The objective of this paper is to find out which characteristics of firms explain the acquisition of R&D services and to analyse whether there are differences depending on the typology of the supplier (universities, technology centres and consulting firms). Three main conclusions emerge from the econometric estimations carried out with information from a survey of innovative firms in the region of Valencia in Spain. First, the results show that firm size and age matter in the decision to buy R&D services. Second, our results are consistent with the relevance that the literature gives to human capital in absorbing external knowledge. Third, innovation policy has a significant influence on the decision to acquire R&D services, particularly from universities and technology centres.