TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hall,Bronwyn H.
AU  - Lotti,Francesca
AU  - Mairesse,Jacques
TI  - Innovation and Productivity in SMEs: Empirical Evidence for Italy
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 14594
PY  - 2008
Y2  - December 2008
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w14594
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w14594.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Bronwyn H. Hall
Dept. of Economics
549 Evans Hall
UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-3880
Tel: 510/642-3878
Fax: 510/548-5561
E-Mail: bhhall@nber.org

Francesca Lotti
Structural Economic Analysis Department
Bank of Italy
via Nazionale 91, 00184 Rome (IT)
E-Mail: francesca.lotti@gmail.com

Jacques Mairesse
CREST-INSEE
15, Boulevard Gabriel PERI
92245 MALAKOFF CEDEX
FRANCE
Tel: 33-1-41-17-35-50
Fax: 33-1-41-17-76-34
E-Mail: mairesse@ensae.fr
AB  - Innovation in SMEs exhibits some peculiar features that most traditional indicators of innovation activity do not capture. Therefore, in this paper, we develop a structural model of innovation which incorporates information on innovation success from firm surveys along with the usual R&D expenditures and productivity measures. We then apply the model to data on Italian SMEs from the "Survey on Manufacturing Firms" conducted by Mediocredito-Capitalia covering the period 1995-2003. The model is estimated in steps, following the logic of firms' decisions and outcomes: in the first, R&D intensity is linked to a set of firm and market characteristics. We find that international competition fosters R&D intensity, especially for high-tech firms. Firm size, R&D intensity, along with investment in equipment enhances the likelihood of having both process and product innovation. Both these kinds of innovation have a positive impact on firm's productivity, especially process innovation. Among SMEs, larger and older firms seem to be less productive.
ER  -