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The role of spillovers in research and development expenditure in Australian industries

Date published:
1 April 2017

Research and development (R&D) play a central role in productivity and economic growth. In this paper we focus on the R&D expenditure decisions of individual firms and how they are affected by the R&D activity of other firms.

Using administrative data from firms in Australia that conduct R&D, we:

  • examine how the R&D activity of other firms and public institutions affects a firm’s own R&D expenditure
  • distinguish between the impact of peers, suppliers and clients
  • examine whether geographical proximity and industrial clustering affect R&D spillovers.

Authors: Sasan Bakhtiari and Robert Breunig