Australia has a crop research system with higher research intensity than exists internationally. Motivated to improve R&D policy in Canada, this dissertation focuses on the Australian End Point Royalty (EPR) system for wheat and addresses four principal questions: (1) How was the Australian system created and how does it work? (2) How do public, producer and private ownership of breeding programs affect the pricing of varieties? (3) How do EPR rates affect wheat variety adoption? (4) Finally, how would uniform EPR rates, similar to those used in France, affect variety selection, total production and revenue if used in the Australian market? In addressing the first question I use existing literature and interviews with prominent personnel in the Australian wheat breeding system, including management of InterGrain, AGT, DAFWA, GRDC and others. Interviews were conducted during field study in Australia in 2011. In addressing the second question I employ a horizontal location model to analyze three game theoretic scenarios of a two firm oligopoly market with private, public and producer owned-breeding companies. The results show public and producer ownership of one of the wheat breeding programs reduces price level relative to private only ownership. I derive a novel result showing that when competing with private firms who must price above marginal cost, the public firm should also price above marginal cost in order to maximize total industry surplus. In addressing the third question I develop and estimate an econometric wheat variety adoption model for Western Australia. I find EPR rates have a negative inelastic, statistically significant impact on the adoption of varieties. Finally, in addressing the last question, I use the econometric model to simulate the adoption of Australian wheat varieties, given a counterfactual of revenue neutral uniform EPR rates. The uniform EPR rates speed up both the adoption and dis-adoption of varieties, thereby increasing weighted average yield and total production. The value of the increase in value of production exceeds the revenue for breeders under varying EPR rates, suggesting uniform EPR system may be an attractive alternative to varying EPR rates.

Agricultural research and development (R&D) investment is becoming an increasingly important policy issue as food prices push upwards and food security problems emerge. An important source of agricultural R&D funding is from producer check-offs, which are increasingly being used to fund applied agricultural research such as disease management, genetic improvement, and weed control. Existing studies of producer-funded agricultural R&D indicate that there are high private and social rates of return to agricultural R&D investment by farmers, and thus that farmers are under investing in R&D. The focus of this thesis is at the producer level. This study examines one of the factors -- the horizon problem -- behind the apparent disincentive for farmers to invest in producer-funded R&D activities. It has been argued that given the long period of time over which the benefits of R&D investment occur, the increasing age of the farm population implies that the horizon problem could be indeed an important factor in producer underinvestment. Contrary to this widely acknowledged argument, this study shows the horizon problem is likely not a factor affecting farmers R&D investment decisions. Two models are developed to examine the horizon problem. The first model consists of a framework for determining the marginal internal rate of return of investing in R&D. Specifically, the model calculates the internal rate of return -- i.e., IRRh -- associated with the farmers' planning horizon and compares this to the internal rate of return -- i.e., IRR bar-- associated with the benefit horizon of the R&D. The impact of the horizon problem is determined by examining the difference between IRRh and IRR bar. The results of the horizon problem model show how that, contrary to what some authors have argued, the horizon problem is likely not a disincentive for R&D investment, unless the time horizon of farmers is very short. Given that the membership horizon for the average Canadian producer is 15 to 20 years, it is expected that the horizon problem is not an issue for Canadian producers. Furthermore, the analysis assumes farmers only are concerned with profit maximization. However, farmers may also consider other factors when making R&D investment decisions, such as future generations of agricultural producers and environment issues. The results of this study show that, even under the assumption of profit maximization, the horizon problem is not an issue for Canadian farmers, let alone in a more realistic model implemented by including factors other than profit. The results of the horizon problem model also show that the impact of the horizon problem is not affected by land tenure relationships. The second model consists of a multi-region, multi-product trade model that is used to examine the impact of Canadian pea R&D funding on consumers and producers in Canada and in various countries around the world that produce and consume pulses. To address the underinvestment issue, it is important to understand the question of who benefits from the research that is undertaken, and who bears the cost. Given that Canada is the largest pea exporter in the world an increase in R&D investment can be expected to have a significant impact on international trade and overseas producers and consumers. The simulation results from the second model illustrate that with increased pea R&D investment, Canadian producers, as well as consumers in all regions, are better off as a result of the R&D investment, while overseas producers are worse off. The results of the sensitivity analysis show that a pivotal supply shift associated with an increased levy, combined with a parallel supply curve shift due to increases in the knowledge stock, does affect the IRR in the large country versus the small country case. This result differs from the result that occurs when there is a parallel shift in supply at both the levy and R&D stages, indicating that it is important to understand the interaction between the manner in which R&D is funded, the way in which R&D affects supply and the trade status of a country. The results of the sensitivity analysis also indicate that the IRR to Canadian producers depends critically on how large an impact pea R&D has on the production of other crops (e.g., wheat and canola). The larger is this impact -- i.e., the more that wheat and canola production falls as a result of higher yields/lower costs of pea production -- the smaller is the IRR. The results also indicate that the elasticities of demand for peas and lentils in the importing countries do not have an impact on the IRR in the case where Canada is a large country exporter for peas only; however, they do have an impact on IRR in the case where Canada is a large exporter for both peas and lentils. In all cases, the more elastic is the demand, the higher is the IRR.

The paper sheds some light on the issue of geographically mediated knowledge spillovers from university research activities to regional knowledge production in high tech industries in Austria. Knowledge spillovers occur because knowledge created by university is typically not contained within that institution, and thereby creates value for others. The conceptual framework for analysing geographic spillovers of university research on regional knowledge production is derived from Griliches (1979). It is assumed that knowledge production in the high tech sectors essentially depends on two major sources of knowledge: the university research that represents the potential pool of knowledge spillovers and R&D performed by the high tech sectors themselves. Knowledge is measured in terms of patents, university research and R&D in terms of expenditures. We refine the standard knowledge production function by modelling research spillovers as a spatially discounted external stock of knowledge. This enables us to capture regional and interregional spillovers. Using district-level data and employing spatial econometric tools evidence is found of university research spillovers that transcend the geographic scale of the political district in Austria. It is shown that geographic boundedness of the spillovers is linked to a decay effect. (authors' abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers of the Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience

Spillover phenomena are usually statistically estimated on the basis of regional and temporal panel data. In this paper we review and investigate exploratory and confirmatory statistical panel data techniques. We illustrate the methods by calculations in the stetting of the well known Research and Development Spillover study by Coe and Helpman (1995). It will be demonstrated that alternative estimation techniques that are well compatible with the data can lead to opposite conclusions. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"

The purpose of this research was to study the applicability of management system standards (MSSs) in a research and development (R&D)-oriented nanotechnology setting. Since multiple quality and R&D-specific standards were found to be relevant in such environments, a methodology for the integration of MSS requirements into an organizations management system (MS), found in the recently published Integrated Use of Management System Standards (IUMSS) Handbook, was also tested in the study. The steps within the IUMSS methodology were applied to integrate the requirements of two R&D MSSs (UNE 166002:2006 and EARTO:2000) into the existing ISO 9001-based quality management system (QMS) within a Case Study Organization (CSO). Recommendations for achieving full compliance with the standards were also provided to the CSO. This research provides significant contributions for any organization using or intending to use the IUMSS methodology for building and integrating standardized management systems in an R&D-oriented setting such as nanotechnology. / Engineering Management

自1991年政府實行促進產業升級條例以來，政府為了刺激廠商增加研發投入，期間不斷的提供誘因，諸如調降申請投資抵減請門檻以及提高抵減比率，本文以1991年至2003年做為研究期間，研究在促進產業升級條例每一時期政府的政策對廠商研究發展投入與績效的影響。本文分別對一般產業、輕工業與重工業、非電子業與電子業做實証研究，結果發現，在申請投資抵減門檻調降為200萬元時，對一般產業、輕工業與非電子業有顯著的影響，與1991-1995年申請門檻為300萬元時相比，一般產業、輕工業、非電子業研發投入分別增加了1.96%、6.55%以及1.38%。但當門檻再往下調降甚至是取消門檻時，對一般產業、輕工業與重工業、非電子業與電子業皆無顯著的影響。績效方面，當期的研發投入對當期的研發績效有著負向的影響，但前一期的研發投入對廠商當期的研發績效卻有正向影響，這個結論對一般產業、輕工業與重工業、非電子業皆相同。對電子業而言，前一期的研發投入雖對當期研發績效影響不顯著，但與當期研發投入一樣，對研發績效同樣是負向的影響，這很有可能是電子業本身研發投入之遞延效果比較高所導致。

本文透過追蹤資料 (panel data)模型，被解釋變數以平均廠商生產力當作衡量指標，利用台灣經濟研究院於2001-2003年對250家生物科技廠商追蹤調查報告，來實證群聚及研究發展 (R＆D)投入對台灣生物科技產業是否為該產業帶來生產力外溢效果 (spillover effect)之研究；藉此可探討群聚與研究發展對台灣生物科技產業產生之外溢效果，同時並可比較分析歐美日對生物科技產業推展之政策，本研究結果進一步在政府擬訂生物科技產業政策上或能提供些許參考。 生物科技產業依其產業範疇分成醫藥品、醫療器材、特用化學品與食品、農業生物技術、環保及生物技術服務業等5項次產業。本文建立追蹤資料模型的固定效果 (fixed effects) 和隨機效果 (random effects)群聚及研究發展外溢效果之實證模型，然後開始進行參數估計及假設檢定，並加以分析，實證結果顯示：一、生技產業不存在固定效果，存在的是隨機效果，表示隨機干擾項 與投入變數 不具相關性。二、群聚與研究發展對國內生物技術產業所引發的外溢效果確屬存在，惟群聚外溢效果對生產力影響不顯著，但研究發展外溢效果對生產力卻具正面影響而且顯著。三、生技產業隨機效果模型與移動平均動態調整Da Silva模型估計結果一致。四、研究發展投入存在有不穩定現象，可見研究發展投入並不是對所有生技產業均有正面貢獻，諸如：特化與食品、農業生技及環保生技服務業有利於自行從事研發活動；而醫藥品業及醫療器材業則可能以與其他生技廠商或研究機構建立策略聯盟關係，如合作研發、研發活動外包 (outsourcing)及購併方式取得技術較有利。五、研究發展外溢效果最高的是特化與食品，其次是環保生技服務業，最低的則是醫療器材業；群聚外溢效果最高的是醫藥品業，其次是醫療器材業，最低的是特化與食品。六、若加以控制產業內研究發展資本存量變數，則研究發展投入與產業間研究發展資本存量對廠商生產力影響，具顯著外溢效果，且該等變數估計結果顯示其對廠商生產力的影響更大。 關鍵字：外溢效果、群聚、研究發展 / This empirical study examines the spillover effect of biotech industry clusters and R&D in Taiwan between 2001 and 2003. A sample of 250 biotechnology firms in Taiwan is used for the analysis. The biotechnology industry is classified into pharmaceutical, medical devices, specialty chemical and food, agricultural biotechnology, environmental biotechnology and service industries. To tell the difference between fixed effects and random effects panel data model of clustering and R&D, this study employs several estimation methods and tests some useful hypotheses. The results of the study show that the biotechnology industry in Taiwan does exhibit random effects, but no fixed effects. This implies that regressors are not correlated with the effect. In addition, clustering and R&D variation can affect productivity of Taiwan’s biotechnology firms. The R&D influence on the productivity of biotechnology firms is positive and significant; however clustering does not have significant impact, a result similar to that between the Fuller-Battese estimation and the moving average Da Silva estimation. R&D investment influence on the productivity of biotechnology firms is not stable in Taiwan. The specialty chemical and food, agricultural biotechnology, environmental biotechnology and service industries, for example, exhibit positive results from independent R&D. The pharmaceutical and medical devices industries, on the other hand, could benefit from building strategic R&D alliances with firms or institutes for abroad as well as through R&D outsourcing and M&A (merger and acquisition). The specialty chemical and food industry has the highest R&D spillover effect, followed by the environmental biotechnology and service industry, and last is the medical devices industry. In terms of spillover effect from clustering, the pharmaceutical industry benefits most followed, in descending order by the medical devices industry, and the specialty chemical and food industry. This study illustrates that the estimator of R&D and between industries R&D are also much larger with Fuller-Battese estimation when the control for inter-industry R&D variable is excluded. Keywords: spillover effect, clusters, R&D

The new product development (NPD) process has been long conceptualized as an intense information processing task, yet several questions about the role of information in shaping NPD decisions remain open. For instance, the persistent representation of NPD decisions as a single decision-maker outcome in existing theory; it limits our understanding of decisions that involve multiple and heterogeneous organizational stakeholders, and it appears distant from the managerial realities. This dissertation focuses on managerial decisions where information acquisition, ownership and interpretation exhibit heterogeneity. The first essay (Chapter 2) examines the role of informational asymmetries that competing firms face when investing in R&D. The second essay (Chapter 3) reveals the detrimental effects of interpretive diversity (i.e., different people may interpret differently the same information) on project termination decisions. The third essay (Chapter 4) examines how consumers' information regarding future market conditions can affect a firm's strategy on striking a balance between its primary and secondary markets.

<p>This thesis investigates the theoretical and empirical relationships between a firm’s R&D investment intensity and the systematic risk of its common stock in Sweden. This is done by examining 38 Swedish firms between 1997 and 2005. An overlapping set of 5-year window is chosen to apply to calculate the variables of the samples.</p><p>In this thesis, three factors are introduced as a proxy of main constituents of systematic risk: intrinsic business risk, degree of financial leverage and degree of operating leverage. And we use these three constituents to analysis the relationship between R&D investment and systematic risk.</p><p>The results from Monte Carlos simulations and correlation analysis of our sample show that, in Sweden, firms with higher R&D intensity do face higher stock price volatility in the stock market. At the same time, we attempt to test the relationship among R&D and systematic risk’s three constituents, but find that R&D intensive firms have more financial leverage which is opposite to our expect, which might due to the shortage of data and limitation of our sample selection, and R&D intensive firms do not have obvious relations directly with intrinsic business risk, degree of financial leverage or degree of operating leverage.</p>

This paper studies the cost effectiveness of climate policy if there are technology externalities. For this purpose, we develop a forward-looking CGE model that captures empirical links between CO2 emissions associated with energy use, directed technical change and the economy. We find the cost-effective climate policy to include a combination of R&D subsidies and CO2 emission constraints, although R&D subsidies raise the shadow value of the CO2 constraint (i.e. CO2 price) because of a strong rebound effect from stimulating innovation. Furthermore, we find that CO2 constraints differentiated toward CO2-intensive sectors are more cost effective than constraints that generate uniform CO2 prices among sectors. Differentiated CO2 prices, through technical change and concomitant technology externalities, encourage growth in the non-CO2 intensive sectors and discourage growth in CO2-intensive sectors. Thus, it is cost effective to let the latter bear relatively more of the abatement burden. This result is robust to whether emission constraints, R&D subsidies or combinations of both are used to reduce CO2 emissions. / Abstract in HTML and technical report in PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/).