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Tesi etd-05162023-120138

Type of thesis
Corso Ordinario Secondo Livello
Author
ZEPPI, MARCO
URN
etd-05162023-120138
Title
A counterfactual impact evaluation of an R&D subsidy program for the Mezzogiorno
Structure
Cl. Sc. Sociali - Scienze Economiche
Course
SCIENZE ECONOMICHE E MANAGERIALI - SCIENZE ECONOMICHE E MANAGERIALI
Committee
relatore Prof. MINA, ANDREA
Presidente Prof. IRALDO, FABIO
Membro Prof.ssa VIRGILLITO, MARIA ENRICA
Membro Prof.ssa VAINIERI, MILENA
Membro Prof. DI MININ, ALBERTO
Membro Prof. BELLINI, NICOLA
Membro Prof. TESTA, FRANCESCO
Keywords
  • impact evalution
  • innovation policy
  • Mezzogiorno
  • R&D subsidies
Exam session start date
12/06/2023;
Availability
parziale
Abstract
Over the past two decades, both experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluation studies have become widespread and increasingly refined in applied microeconometrics, giving rise to a “credibility revolution” in empirical economics (Angrist and Pischke 2010). The goal of such studies is to credibly disentangle the causal effects of whatever intervention, thanks to the robustness of their research designs and the relative econometric tools. To put it briefly, they identify the causal effects of a policy first by statistically detecting reliable “counterfactual outcomes” and then comparing them with recipient units’ outcomes (Fougère and Jacquemet 2021). The analysis of the effectiveness of public policies is particularly relevant in the field of innovation, where distinct schools of economic thought argue for different policies to foster it.<br>The present dissertation represents an original contribution to the impact evaluation literature thanks to our application of the innovative difference-in-differences (DiD) design by Callaway and Sant’Anna (2021) to check the effectiveness of an R&amp;D subsidy program to stimulate innovation in the Mezzogiorno, after showing a theoretical and empirical overview of both the innovation policy and the institutional setting of the program under study. Our results appear to suggest the program&#39;s effectiveness in fostering process rather than product innovation, due to an increase in firms’ productivity not accompanied by a rise in the number of patents.
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