Dublin Core
Title
Drivers of R&D investment, innovation, and productivity in Chilean firms: the role of competition and international trade
Subject
R&D
Innovation
Productivity
Competition
Market Concentration
International Trade
Exports
Imports
CDM Model
Chile
620
Ingeniería
Description
Tesis (Master of Science in Engineering)--Pontificia Universidad Católica, 2022
In the Chilean business sector, research and development (R&D), innovation and productivity
indicators lag far behind the figures reported in the most advanced economies. However,
there is scarce empirical evidence on what is driving and hindering improvement in such areas.
This work contributes to clarify the relationship between R&D investment, innovation, and
labor productivity in Chilean firms by analyzing in depth the role of competition and international
trade in this process. Our ability to explore these topics is made possible by merging two
recent economic surveys and applying a microeconometric model that allows us to correct for
selection bias and endogeneity. On the one hand, the results show that competition and R&D
intensity are linked by an inverse U-shaped curve, but the estimated effects of competition on
innovation output and labor productivity turn out to be rather ambiguous. This suggests that
market structure has an impact on the incentives to innovate, but not necessarily on the firms’
innovative success. On the other hand, the results indicate that international trade can promote
innovation and productivity. More specifically, we show that being a two-way trader (i.e., a firm
that both imports and exports) enhances product innovation and labor productivity. We advance
the argument that such an advantage is based on different complementarities between importing
and exporting activities.
indicators lag far behind the figures reported in the most advanced economies. However,
there is scarce empirical evidence on what is driving and hindering improvement in such areas.
This work contributes to clarify the relationship between R&D investment, innovation, and
labor productivity in Chilean firms by analyzing in depth the role of competition and international
trade in this process. Our ability to explore these topics is made possible by merging two
recent economic surveys and applying a microeconometric model that allows us to correct for
selection bias and endogeneity. On the one hand, the results show that competition and R&D
intensity are linked by an inverse U-shaped curve, but the estimated effects of competition on
innovation output and labor productivity turn out to be rather ambiguous. This suggests that
market structure has an impact on the incentives to innovate, but not necessarily on the firms’
innovative success. On the other hand, the results indicate that international trade can promote
innovation and productivity. More specifically, we show that being a two-way trader (i.e., a firm
that both imports and exports) enhances product innovation and labor productivity. We advance
the argument that such an advantage is based on different complementarities between importing
and exporting activities.
Creator
Montégu, José Pablo
Date
2022-10-05T17:01:36Z
2022-10-05T17:01:36Z
2019
Contributor
Pertuzé Salas, Julio
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Escuela de Ingeniería
Rights
acceso abierto
Format
xiii, 173 páginas
application/pdf
Language
en
Type
tesis de maestría
Identifier
10.7764/tesisUC/ING/64978
https://doi.org/10.7764/tesisUC/ING/64978
https://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/64978