Publication bias in the returns to R&D literature

Jarle Møen and Helge Sandvig Thorsen ()
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Helge Sandvig Thorsen: Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, Postal: NHH , Department of Economics, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway, http://www.nhh.no/Default.aspx?ID=44218

No 2013/12, Discussion Papers from Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science

Abstract: The returns to R&D literature is large and has been surveyed on several occasions. We complement previous surveys by using formal meta analytic techniques to analyse publication bias. We find evidence consistent with a strong positive bias in the part of the literature that controls for unobserved firm fixed effects. The reason may be that fixed effects specifications are particularly susceptible to measurement errors and therefore have a high probability of producing implausibly low return estimates. Implausible estimates are likely to be filtered out before being reported, and our analysis suggest that 26 % of a hypothetical complete literature is missing. Future reviews should take into account that the full effect of negative specifications biases may be masked by reporting and publication bias.

Keywords: Returns to R&D; Meta-analysis; Publication bias; Funnel asymmetry; Trim-and-fill method; FAT-PET (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C83 D24 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2013-11-21
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-eff and nep-ino
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Publication Bias in the Returns to R&D Literature (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2013_012

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