Public R&D Investment in Economic Crises

Konferenzbeitrag

We study the cyclicality of public R&D in 28 OECD countries (1995 - 2017). While procyclical on average, public R&D reacts asymmetrically over different phases of the business cycle and becomes acyclical during recessions. It is also heterogeneous across countries: Innovation leaders and followers behave countercyclically during recessions while moderate innovators behave procyclically. Furthermore, the share of public R&D allocated to the business sector is countercyclical, but the thematic composition remains stable. These results, not driven by countries' financial constraints, imply that countries behind the innovation frontier might strengthen their resilience to economic crises by adopting countercyclical R&D strategies.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2021: Climate Economics

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Technological Change: Government Policy ; National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: General ; Crisis Management ; Business Fluctuations; Cycles
• Subject: R&D ; Public Policy ; Business Cycle

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Pellens, Maikel ; Peters, Bettina ; Hud, Martin ; Rammer, Christian ; Licht, Georg
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics
• (where): Kiel, Hamburg
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/242467
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET