R&D investment under stress and uncertainty: the case of Argentina

Firms in developing economies are subject to macroeconomic fluctuations and policy swings, which generate uncertainty about the future behaviour of key variables that condition their return to innovation. In this paper, we explore how macroeconomic uncertainty and past exposure to macroeconomic shocks affect R&D investments. Using firm-level data on Argentina for the period 1992-2001, we find that firms that have experienced more shocks are less likely to commit to R&D investment and, also, that macroeconomic uncertainty prevents firms' investment in R&D. We find that this effect is stronger for firms that have experienced more macroeconomic-shocks and weaker for firms with higher levels of foreign ownership.