High-tech R&D subsidies - Estimating the effects of Sematech

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Irwin, DA; Klenow, PJ
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/0022-1996(95)01408-X
• 发表日期: 1996
• 页码: 323-344
• 关键词: R&D; Sematech; semiconductor; consortium; subsidies

摘要

Sparked by concerns about their shrinking market share, 14 leading U.S. semiconductor producers, with the financial assistance of the U.S. government in the form of $100 million in annual subsidies, formed a joint R&D consortium - Sematech - in 1987. Using Compustat data on all U.S. semiconductor firms, we estimate the effects of Sematech on members' R&D spending, profitability, investment, and productivity. In so doing we examine two hypotheses: the 'commitment' hypothesis that Sematech obligates member firms to spend more on high-spillover R&D, and the 'sharing' hypothesis that Sematech reduces duplication of member R&D spending. Whereas the commitment hypothesis provides a rationale for the government subsidies, the sharing hypothesis does not. We find that Sematech induced members to cut their overall R&D spending on the order of $300 million per year, providing support for the sharing hypothesis.