The Causal Effects of R&D Grants: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity
利用欧洲首个针对小企业的研发补贴分配断点，发现资助显著改善了企业绩效，且效果源于资金缓解融资约束而非认证信号；纯认证（无资金）不提升绩效，但项目产生正向私人回报及区域和行业溢出效应。
Abstract We leverage the discontinuity in the assignment mechanism of the Small and Medium Enterprise Instrument—the first European research and development (R&D) subsidy targeting small firms—to provide the broadest quasi-experimental evidence on R&D grants over both geographical and sectoral scopes. Grants trigger sizable impacts on a wide range of firm-level outcomes. Heterogeneous effects are consistent with grants reducing financial frictions. This reduction is due to funding rather than certification. We also provide direct causal evidence on pure certification—signaling not attached to funding—and show that firms that only receive “quality stamps” do not improve their performance. Finally, our estimates suggest that the scheme produces private returns that are positive and comparable to those of the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research program, while also generating geographical and sectoral spillovers in the form of increased rates of entrepreneurial entry.