Yuen Ping Ho

Characteristics and determinants of informal investment in Singapore

Abstract Since Wetzel (1982, 1983) identified the business angel as a primary source of risk capital, there has been increased interest in the role of informal investors in the formation of new business ventures in the developed OECD countries. However, there remains little known about informal investors in developing or newly industrialized economies such as Singapore. Based on data collected using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) methodology (Reynolds et al., 2002), this paper examines the characteristics of informal investors in Singapore, and analyses the key determinant factors that differentiate individuals who become informal investors from those who do not make informal investments. In particular, we examine if these factors differ depending on the relationship between the investor and entrepreneur. We also investigate the differences between determinants of higher and lower value investment propensities. The findings reveal that knowing entrepreneurs personally was the factor with the strongest influence on informal investing propensity in Singapore. Other findings suggest that informal investing propensity in Singapore is less influenced by demographic factors and income, and more by prior entrepreneurial experience and self-perceived skills with new business formation.

Internationalization and evolution of application areas of an emerging technology: The case of nanotechnology

Nanotechnology patenting has grown rapidly in recent years as an increasing number of countries are getting into the global nanotechnology race. Using a refined methodology to identify and classify nanotechnology patents, this paper analyses the changing pattern of internationalization of nanotechnology patenting activities from 1976–2004. We show that the dominance of the G5 countries have declined in recent years, not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality as measured by citation indicators. In addition, using a new approach to classifying the intended areas of commercial applications, we show that nanotechnology patenting initially emphasized instrumentation, but exhibited greater diversification to other application areas in recent years. Significant differences in application area specialization are also found among major nanotechnology nations. Moreover, universities are found to play a significant and increasing role in patenting, particularly in US, UK and Canada.

THE IMPACT OF R&D ON THE SINGAPORE ECONOMY: AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION

Much of the literature on the impact of R&D on economic performance is founded on the advanced countries, where the intensity of R&D expenditure has been relatively high and stable for many years. In this paper, we provide empirical estimates of the impact of R&D on the economic growth of a Newly Industrialised Economy, Singapore, where R&D expenditure intensity has been low initially, bur rising rapidly in recent years. The Cobb-Douglas based analysis provided empirical evidence that R&D investment in Singapore had a significant impact on its total factor productivity performance in the last 20 years and established a long-term equilibrium relationship between R&D investments and TFP. However, compared to the OECD nations, the impact of R&D investment on economic growth in Singapore is not as strong, as evidenced by lower estimated elasticity values. The long run elasticity of output with respect to R&D was computed to be 8.1% for Singapore compared to long run elasticities of over 10% estimated by other researchers for OECD countries. This suggests that Singapore still has some way to go in catching up with the advanced nations in terms of R&D productivity. This not only means increasing the level of R&D intensity in Singapore but also more efficient exploitation of domestic R&D activity.

Knowledge sources of innovation in a small open economy: The case of Singapore

By tracing the flows of patent citation to prior patents and scientific journal articles, we investigate the sources of knowledge for innovation output in Singapore, a small, highly open economy that has traditionally been significantly dependent on foreign multinational corporations (MNCs). We found that the local production of new knowledge by indigenous Singaporean firms depends disproportionately on technological knowledge produced by MNCs with operational presence in Singapore and scientific knowledge generated by foreign universities. Locally produced new knowledge by indigenous firms and local universities/ public research institutes constitutes an as yet insignificant, albeit growing, source for innovation in Singapore.

The Impact of R&D on the Singapore Economy: A Time Series Analysis

This paper analyses the impact of R&D on economic performance in Singapore from 1978 to 2012 through the use of time series analysis. The Cobb-Douglas based analysis establishes a long-run equilibrium relationship between Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and R&D investments. We found that short-run productivity of R&D in Singapore is comparable to the smaller advanced economics in the OECD. However, in terms of long-run R&D productivity, Singapore lags slightly behind the smaller OECD nations and far behind the G7 countries. This suggests leakage of value capture and low absorptive capacity in local firms. Possibility of productivity improvements induced by policy changes in the 1990s was considered but no evidence of significant structural breaks was found. Lastly, Granger-causality analysis reveals that public sector R&D augments private sector R&D capital, thus playing an important role in generating externalities and spillover effects. Policy implications and lessons for other middle-income countries are discussed.

Venture capital funding of Asian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley: A longitudinal analysis

Immigrant Asian entrepreneurs have played a prominent role in the entrepreneurial dynamism of Silicon Valley over the last three decades. This paper traces the trend in new venture formation in Silicon Valley by ethnic Asian entrepreneurs over the years up to 2004, and examines the changing pattern of venture capital (VC) that funded them. We found an increasing share of ventures run by Asians among VC-backed ventures created in Silicon Valley over the years, and that these ventures are disproportionately concentrated in software, semiconductors, and communications. We also found that VC firms with significant Asian LPs had higher propensities of funding ventures led by Asian entrepreneurs.