R&D Efficiency in High-Tech Firms in China

Lee, Sang-Ho and Chen, Zhao and Xu, Wei (2017): R&D Efficiency in High-Tech Firms in China. Forthcoming in: Asian Economic Papers , Vol. 16, (October 2017)

Abstract

Using firm-level data from Changzhou, one of the representative prefectural cities in the Yangzi River Delta in China, we investigate the performances of both internal and external R&D in high-tech firms. We find that, on average, high-tech firms with more internal R&D expenditure apply for more patents in terms of both the total number of patents and the number of invention patents. Internal R&D is the most efficient in foreign firms, followed by private firms and then followed by SOEs (state-owned enterprises). These findings highlight the importance of privatizing high-tech firms in China if the Chinese government intends to accelerate industrial upgrading and convert the pattern of “Made in China” into “Created in China.”

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: internal R&D; external R&D; high-tech firms; R&D performances
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D22 - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H76 - State and Local Government: Other Expenditure Categories; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L25 - Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope

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