Do R&D tax incentives lead to higher wages for R&D workers? Evidence from the Netherlands


Boris Lokshin & Pierre Mohnen

#2012-058

This paper examines the impact of the Dutch R&D tax incentive scheme on the wages of R&D workers. We construct firm specific R&D tax credit rates that vary over time following variations in the Dutch R&D tax incentive program. Using instrumental variables we estimate a wage-sharing model with an unbalanced firm-level panel data covering the period 1997-2004. The elasticity of the R&D wage with respect to the fraction of the wage supported by the fiscal incentives scheme is estimated at 0.2 in the short run and 0.24 in the long run.

Keywords: R&D wages; tax incentives;

JEL Classification: O32, O38, H25, J30, C23

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