The Characteristics of Industrial Firms' R&D Investment Structure Based on the Comparison of Worldwide Firm-level Data

Using panel data of 2728 listed industrial firms from 31 countries, we analyze the differences of firms' R&D investment structure between China and other countries in terms of top firms, age distribution and size distribution, and draw the following conclusions. The firms in developed countries dominate the global R&D, and China's R&D investment reflects China's economic growth is driven mainly by investment in fixed assets, not by high technology. Moreover, there are differences in the age and size distribution of firms' R&D investment between China and other countries.