Abstract:     As an important incentive policy for enterprise innovation in China, the super-deduction of R&D expenses has been implemented for many years. Evaluating the effectiveness of the policy is of great significance in promoting construction of China into an innovation-oriented country. This study took the promulgation of Document Cai Shui 〔2015〕 No. 119 as a quasi-natural experiment. It empirically examined the effect of the super-deduction policy of R&D expenses on enterprise innovation, by taking A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2013 to 2017 as the research samples and innovation input, innovation output, and innovation efficiency as the analytical indexes, and using the PSM-DID method to explore whether the policy has effectively promoted enterprise technological innovation. This study found that: (1) the super-deduction policy of R&D expenses can significantly promote innovation input and innovation output of enterprises; (2) the super-deduction policy of R&D expenses can cause a reduction in the innovation efficiency of enterprises; (3) there is significant heterogeneity in the effects of the policy on regions with different enterprise sizes, different types of property rights, and different degrees of marketization. Combined with the research findings, the paper discussed whether the super-deduction policy of R&D expenses is effective in promoting enterprise technological innovation from the perspective of enterprises′ motivation to use subsidies, and whether it has provided recommendations for improving the policy in China.

Key words: super-deduction policy of R&D expenses, innovation input, innovation output, innovation efficiency