For more than three decades, China has managed to combine rapid economic growth with a strictly regulated financial sector. The discrepancy between economic and financial development has raised the question of whether China might be an exception to the so-called finance-growth nexus. This study examines the relationship between finance and growth at the provincial level in China using a new set of measures of capital freedom and financial development. The results indicate that capital freedom and financial development are associated with both higher income and growth rates. In particular, we find that the marketisation of financial institutions and strengthening of legal and government institutions have a particularly strong impact on income and growth in low-income provinces.

Vi har under de senaste åren sett ett allt större intresse för innovationsdriven tillväxt. Några exempel på denna trend utgörs av EU:s tillväxtstrategi för perioden 2012-2020 (the Europe 2020 Strategy) där innovationer identifieras som nyckeln till framtida hållbar tillväxt. Ökade insatser på FoU förväntas leda till fler innovationer, stärkt konkurrenskraft, grönare tillväxt och även stärkt tålighet mot problemen som orsakats av finanskrisen (European Commission, 2013).

 Tanken på innovationsdriven tillväxt finns även i Sverige och det blir alltmer vanligt att beslutsfattare och forskare föreslår en mer aktiv roll för staten när det gäller att stimulera innovationer och företagstillväxt och ett vanligt förekoomande instrument är olika typer av direkt stöd riktat mot innovativ verksamhet.

I syfte att studera om denna inriktning har ett empiriskt stöd analyserar vi effekterna av två selektiva företagsstöd, VINN NU och Forska & Väx, som båda riktas mot innovativa små och medelstora företag i Sverige. Den kontrafaktiska effektutvärderingen är möjlig genom tillgång till en unik mikrodatabas över utbetalda företagsstöd. Resultaten indikerar inga statistiskt säkerställda effekter av stöden på antal anställda, arbetskraftsproduktiviteten, omsättningstillväxten, andelen högutbildade arbetstagare eller andelen forskare efter det att stödperioden upphört. Vi finner således inget stöd för att riktade stöd till innovationsbenägna små – och mellanstora företag är en effektiv politik för att få fler växande företag.

In this paper we examine whether China has benefited more from spending on R&D than other countries by conducting a meta-analysis of the relevant literature on a large number of countries at different stages of economic development. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R&D spending in China has been significantly weaker than that of other countries. It is thus unlikely that R&D spending has been successful as a key contributing factor to economic growth in China.

National concerns are sometimes raised against offshoring of economic activities to other countries. While most of the existing literature has focused on the effects on labor demand and productivity the effects on domestic R&D have been neglected. This is unfortunate since the decision to offshore activities also includes R&D. We use unique and rich firm level data for the Swedish manufacturing sector to analyze how offshoring impacts domestic R&D and how these effects vary with respect to target region and type of firm. The results suggest that offshoring of production alter a firm’s investments in R&D in Sweden and that a negative impact on home country R&D is confined to offshoring by non-multinationals and offshoring to Europe and EU15 countries.

We analyze how service offshoring by Swedish firms is affected by corruption in source countries. The results suggest that firms avoid corrupt countries and that corruption reduces the volume of service offshoring. Analyzing firm heterogeneity, we find that large and internationalized firms are the ones that are the most sensitive to corruption. In addition, sensitivity to corruption tends to increase with falling income in source countries. These results suggest that the gains from reduced corruption may be the greatest for poor countries. 

Previous research has found that weak institutions can hamper investment and alter patterns of trade. However, little is known about the impact of institutional quality on offshoring. This lack of knowledge is surprising, given that offshoring has become an important part of many firms’ internationalization strategies. This study uses detailed firm-level data for the period 1997-2005 to examine the relationship between institutional quality in 113 source countries and offshoring by Swedish firms. The results suggest that weak institutions are negatively related to offshoring in general and to offshoring of R&D- and relationship specificity-intensive inputs in particular. Analysis of learning effects suggests that the impact of weak institutions on offshoring of relationship specificity-intensive inputs vanish when firms return to countries from which they have previous market experience. Our results are robust to various measures of institutional quality.

In this paper we conduct a meta-analysis to examine the link between R&D spending and economic growth in the EU and other regions. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R&D in the EU15 countries does not differ from that in other countries in general, but it is less significant than that for other industrialized countries. A closer inspection of the data reveals that the weak results for the EU15 stem from comparisons with the US – the US has been able to generate a stronger growth response from its R&D spending. Possible explanations for the US advantage include higher private sector investment in R&D and stronger public-private sector linkages than in the EU. Hence, to reduce the “innovation gap” vis-à-vis the US, it may not be enough for the EU to raise the share of R&D expenditures in GDP: continuous improvements in the European innovation system will also be needed, with focus on areas like private sector R&D and public-private sector linkages.

In this paper the authors conduct a meta-analysis to examine the link between R&D spending and economic growth in the EU and other regions. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R&D in the EU15 countries does not differ from that in other countries in general, but it is less significant than that for other industrialized countries. A closer inspection of the data reveals that the weak results for the EU15 stem from comparisons with the US – the US has been able to generate a stronger growth response from its R&D spending. Possible explanations for the US advantage include higher private sector investment in R&D and stronger public-private sector linkages than in the EU. Hence, to reduce the “innovation gap” vis-à-vis the US, it may not be enough for the EU to raise the share of R&D expenditures in GDP: continuous improvements in the European innovation system will also be needed, with focus on areas like private sector R&D and public-private sector linkages.

Beckerman (1956) and Linder (1961) have suggested that international trade is not determined by supply-side factors alone—perceptions about foreign countries and country preferences matter. We explore the relation between exports, cultural distance, and country preferences in Europe. The results show that several distance and preference-related variables, based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, income gaps, and voting patterns in the Eurovision Song Contest, are significantly related to bilateral trade. We conclude that cultural distance and preferences influence trade through several channels, both indirectly through transaction costs and more directly, as countries seem to prefer some trade partners before others.

The gap between theoretically predicted trade patterns and actual trade suggests that our understanding of what shapes trade patterns is incomplete. Institutional barriers may be one factor behind this gap, and recent research suggests that institutions are a greater obstacle to trade than tariffs. Using detailed firm-level data, we analyze how institutional quality in recipient countries affects exports by Swedish firms. Our results suggest that weak institutions in recipient countries make exports to these countries less likely and that exports to countries with weak institutions are characterized by relatively short duration and small volume. Analyzing long-term trade flows, we identified a learning process where exporters become less dependent on institutional quality in the target economy over time. More specifically, in addition to previous research that emphasize learning related to knowledge about the contracting partner and rule of law, we extend this notion and show that there is also a learning process where firms acquire knowledge about the general business climate. When learning about the contractual partner and business institutions in recipients countries takes place, exports increase relatively quickly during the first 2 years of exports and thereafter levels out. Hence, firms that are initially sensitive to weak institutions, start small, and learn how to handle foreign institutions are likely to be most successful in maintaining long-term relationships with foreign markets.