Causal effects of a tax incentive on SME capital investment
研究2014年日本针对中小企业引入的税收激励对资本投资的影响，发现平均效果不显著，但使用该激励的企业提高了资本投资率和劳动生产率，且金融约束更强的企业投资增加更多。
Abstract We estimate the causal effects of a tax incentive for specific productivity-enhancing equipment introduced in 2014 for Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using firm-level panel data, we find, first, that the introduction of the tax incentive did not on average increase the capital investment rate of SMEs eligible for the tax incentive possibly due to the small number of firms using the incentive. Second, despite this finding, the firms using the tax incentive increased their capital investment rate and improved labor productivity more than the comparable firms holding the stated capital close to but more than the criterion of SMEs did. Third, firms using the tax incentive did not increase capital intensity. Fourth, more financially constrained firms using the tax incentive increased their capital investment rate to a greater degree. These results show that the use of the tax incentive mitigates financial constraints in upgrading capital.