Investment differences between public and private firms: Evidence from US tax returns

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Feldman, Naomi; Kawano, Laura; Patel, Elena; Rao, Nirupama; Stevens, Michael; Edgerton, Jesse
• 署名单位: Hebrew University of Jerusalem; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Utah System of Higher Education; University of Utah; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; United States Department of the Treasury; JP Morgan Chase & Company
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104370
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: investment; Public firms; corporate governance

摘要

Using tax data, we compare the investment behavior of public and private firms for a representative sample of all U.S. corporations. We find that while both types of firms invest similarly in physical capital, public firms out-invest private firms in R&D. Compared to observationally-similar private firms, public firms invest roughly 50% more in R&D relative to their asset bases. Further, public firms dedicate 7.4 percentage points more of their investments to R&D than private firms. This stronger public firm R&D investment is muted when shareholder earnings pressures are heightened, but not so much as to overcome the baseline investment advantage. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.