R&D investment and total factor productivity: The PSM analysisbased on industrial firm-level data of China

Abstract

Abstract: The industrial firms are divided into the control group with R&D investment and the treatment group without R&D investment, and the propensity score method (PSM) is used to test the effect of R&D activities on productivity. The results show that the productivity of firms with R&D is 21.5% higher than those without R&D, reflecting that R&D can increase the total factor productivity. Then, the sample of industrial firms with R&D inputs in succession is used to test the relationship between R&D intensity and productivity. The conclusion is drawn that there is a U-shape relation between R&D intensity and productivity with a critical value of 0.488%. About 99% industrial firms' R&D investment is below the threshold value impeding the increasing of productivity. It indicates that the firms should increase R&D investment, improve the R&D efficiency, enhance the proportion of basic research, and develop the innovation effect of R&D investment, so as to increase the productivity.

Key words: R&D investment, total factor productivity, PSM

CLC Number:

F423.1

Sun Xiaohua, Wang Yun. R&D investment and total factor productivity: The PSM analysisbased on industrial firm-level data of China[J]. Science Research Management, 2014, 35(11): 92-99.

References

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