Do Selective Industrial Policies Cause Growth? – Experiences from Sweden

Abstract

Questions regarding economic growth are at the top of the economic and political agenda in Sweden today. This report provides an analysis of how selective policies supporting innovation and entrepreneurship have been implemented and their impact on firm performance, growth and competitiveness.

The report is edited by Patrik Gustavsson Tingvall and Enrico Deiaco, Director of innovation and global meeting places at Growth Analysis (Tillväxtanalys), and is largely based on ”Tillväxt genom stöd – en bok om statligt stöd till näringslivet” (Tillväxtfakta 2015).

Gustavsson Tingvall, P. & Deiaco, E. (Eds.) (2015). Do Selective Industrial Policies Cause Growth? – Experiences from Sweden. Report 2015:07. Tillväxtanalys.

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Book chapter

Do Targeted R&D Grants toward SMEs Increase Employment and Demand for High Human Capital Workers?

Daunfeldt, S. O., Halvarsson, D., Tingvall, P. G., & McKelvie, A.

Publication year

2022

Published in

Springer.

Abstract

Most previous studies on the employment effects of government R&D grants targeting SMEs are characterized by data-, measurement-, and selection problems, making it difficult to construct a relevant control group of firms that did not receive an R&D grant. We investigate the effects on employment and firm-level demand for high human capital workers of two Swedish programs targeted toward growth-oriented SMEs using Coarsened Exact Matching. Our most striking result is the absence of any statistically significant effects. We find no robust evidence that the targeted R&D grant programs had any positive and statistically significant effects on the number of employees recruited into these SMEs, or that the grants are associated with an increase in the demand for high human capital workers. The lack of statistically significant findings is troublesome considering that government support programs require a positive impact to cover the administrative costs associated with these programs.

The book can be downloaded here for free.

Book chapter

Third-Generation Innovation Policy: System Transformation or Reinforcing Business as Usual?

Bergkvist, J. E., Moodysson, J., & Sandström, C.

Publication year

2022

Published in

Questioning the Entrepreneurial State, 201.

Abstract

There has been a shift in innovation policy in recent years toward more focus on systemic transformation and changed directionality. In this chapter, we describe a collection of challenges that such policies need to address. Based on a review of dominant frameworks regarding socio-technical transitions, we compare these theories with examples of innovation policy in different countries. Systemic transformation across an economy usually requires a process of creative destruction in which new competencies may be required, actors need to be connected in novel ways, and institutions may need to be changed. Our empirical illustrations show that support programs and initiatives across Europe do not always seem to result in such a process, as they include mechanisms favoring large, established firms and universities. These actors have often fine-tuned their activities and capabilities to the existing order, and therefore have few incentives to engage in renewal. As the incumbent actors also control superior financial and relational resources, there is a risk that they captivate innovation policies and thus reinforce established structures rather than contributing to systemic transformation.

Article (without peer review)

Utvärderingar av näringspolitik – en intressekonflikt mellan myndigheter, konsult-företag, politik och skattebetalare?

Colin, E., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, C.

Publication year

2021

Published in

Ekon. Debatt, 49, 30-41.

Abstract

Antalet utvärderingar av ekonomisk politik ökar explosionsartat. Det finns dock få systematiska sammanställningar av de utvärderingar som görs och det saknas kunskap om hur utvärderare skiljer sig åt gällande metoder och slutsatser, inte minst inom näringspolitiken. Vi studerar utvärderingar av 110 näringspoli-tiska insatser 2009–19 genom att granska huruvida valet av utvärderare påver-kar utvärderingarnas resultat. Privata konsulter visar sig vara den vanligaste utvärderaren av näringspolitik och deras utvärderingar skiljer sig från andra utvärderare genom att vara övervägande mer positiva till de utvärderade insat-serna. Vi diskuterar intressekonflikter som kan antas föreligga mellan utvärde-rare, myndigheter, den politiska makten och allmänheten.

Colin, E., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, C. (2021). Utvärderingar av näringspolitik–en intressekonflikt mellan myndigheter, konsultföretag, politik och skattebetalare. Ekon. Debatt, 49, 30-41.

Do Selective Industrial Policies Cause Growth? – Experiences from Sweden

Abstract

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