S&T activities and firm performance: microeconomic evidence from manufacturing in Shanghai

This paper examines the impact of R&D expenditure and technology import on the level and the growth of productivity, as well as on the general economic performance in manufacturing firms with various ownership structures in Shanghai, China.The empirical analyses are based on the firm-level information of a sample of manufacturing firms for the period 1998-2003. We find clear-cut evidence indicating that firms with foreign participation have a productivity advantage over their domestic counterparts.The expenditures on technology import not only have a direct and positive effect on productivity, but also indirectly enhance the absorptive capacity of firms to facilitate in-house R&D activities.This is particularly true for firms with foreign participation, or for firms in sectors with relatively high technical standards.Furthermore, R&D expenditure and technology import may also have positive effects on profitability and export performance, depending on the ownership structure of the firm and the technical standard in the sector.