Impact of Economic Crises on Innovation Activity: Firm Level Evidence from Patent Data

Gustav Martinsson () and Hans Lööf ()
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Gustav Martinsson: CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology, Postal: CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden, http://cesis.abe.kth.se/

No 200, Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation from Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies

Abstract: Based on data from of 2,700 Swedish manufacturing firms, observed through the period 1997-2005, this paper shows that internal finance resources, measured by cash-flow, affect the propensity to apply for a patent as well as the number of patent applications. From a business cycle perspective, cash-flow only plays a role during and after economic contractions. In periods of economic expansion there is no significant association between internal finance and patent applications. Further, the sensitivity of patent applications to cash-flow is limited to firms with low equity-ratio. Among high equity firms the pattern of patent applications are robust over the business cycle.

Keywords: Financing constraints; Innovation; Intellectual property rights; Firm-level panel data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G32 O31 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2009-10-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ino, nep-ipr, nep-pr~, nep-knm, nep-mic and nep-sbm
Note: This is a substantially revised version of previously published CESIS Working paper (#194)
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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