Income Smoothing and Discretionary R&D Expenditures of Japanese Firms*
检验日本企业在1991年至今的经济衰退中是否为了平滑利润而削减研发支出，发现多个行业存在这种行为，且扩张期调整更大，表明日本经理人可能存在短视决策。
Abstract During the recent recession (1991 to present), Japanese firms decreased their spending on R&D for the first time since World War II. The decreases have raised concerns that Japanese managers may be making suboptimal allocations to R&D. We test whether Japanese managers adjust R&D based on short‐term performance. Our results show that Japanese firms in several industries adjust their R&D budgets to smooth profits. Interestingly, adjustments to R&D are larger in expansion years. These results, similar to those documented with U.S. managers, point to myopic decision making by Japanese managers.