Abstract:

In this paper, we examine the impact of subsidies granted at the national and regional level on a set of research and development (R&D) employment variables, and specifically seek to identify the existence of additional effects of these public subsidies on firms’ R&D human resources. We begin by assessing the effects of public funds on private R&D expenditure and on the number of R&D employees, and then focus on the impact of these funds on the composition of human resources devoted to R&D classified by occupation and level of education. The data used are from the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel for the period 2006-2011. To control for selection bias and endogeneity, we use a combination of non-parametric matching techniques. Our results show that R&D subsidies increase the number of R&D employees, but we do not find a contemporaneous increase in the average skill level of R&D personnel in subsidised firms. However, in the following years a positive effect on the recruitment of PhDs is observed. The effects of public support are heterogeneous and depend on the origin of the subsidy and the characteristics of the firms.

Reference:

Afcha, S.; Garcia-Quevedo, J. (2016): The impact of R&D subsidies on R&D employment composition, Industrial and Corporate Change, 25(6), pp. 955-975. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtw008