R&D funds help small firms most, study finds

Policymakers should target R&D funding programmes at smaller companies to boost innovation-driven growth, a report has said.

Small companies are able to make better use of R&D than larger firms, according to a working paper published by Etla, the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy. The best performing companies were ICT-focused firms with fewer than 100 employees, it said.

The study, published on 2 August, examined the effect of R&D spending on the income of more than 5,000 European companies between 2004 and 2013.