Erik Gjymshana

“Empirical analyses of the effects of tax incentives on corporate innovation”

• Doctoral guidance committee: Prof. dr. Annelies Roggeman (Ghent University, main supervisor), Prof. dr. Isabelle Verleyen (Ghent University, co-supervisor), Prof. dr. Bertel De Groote (Ghent University), Prof. dr. Jacqueline Haverals (University of Zurich)

• In my dissertation, I study the impact of corporate taxation on corporate innovation. Governments around the world have utilized tax policy to promote business R&D for several decades. At first, governments were focused on providing public support through subsidies. Later on, governments of most Western nations have introduced tax incentives such as patent boxes and R&D tax credits designed to complement subsidies. This policy focus has been driven by increased awareness of the importance of innovation for economic growth and arguments that firms left to their own devices would not invest enough in innovation from society’s point of view. The aim of my research is to investigate whether recently introduced tax incentives in European countries are successful at promoting business R&D. I employ various quasi-experimental strategies in order to estimate the causal effect that tax incentives have on corporate innovation.