On 19 May 2022, the 15th Xi Xian Academic Luncheon, co-organized by IIDPF and the School of Public Finance and Taxation of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, was successfully held in Conference Room 119 of Wenqin Building. Dr Zou Jianwen, a researcher at IIDPF, was the guest speaker for this academic lunch and gave a talk entitled "Market Shocks and Corporate Innovation Support". More than 30 students and faculty members attended the luncheon, which was hosted by IIDPF researcher Dr. Gao Sihan.
The manufacturing industry in China is facing unprecedented pressure as the impact of downward economic growth, trade frictions, deleveraging and price volatility and market changes have taken their toll on companies' ability to innovate since the spread of the COVID epidemic. In this context, Dr Zou Jianwen developed a semi-structural model of corporate R&D and market shocks, assessed the ability of corporate innovation to insure against shocks and the damping effect of government subsidies on market shocks, and conducted a comparison between the US and China. Using data on listed companies, Dr Zou Jianwen's research found that government subsidies can effectively improve firms' ability to insure against market shocks, but that Chinese firms are less able to insure against market shocks compared to US firms.
Dr Zou Jianwen's insightful sharing attracted students and teachers in the audience. The discussion session was a lively and interactive exchange of views on variables, data, models and other issues. Dr Zou's research structurally identifies the damping effect of firms' innovation insurance capacity and government support for innovation, which helps to improve the operability and targeting of government innovation support policies for firms.
