R&D Investment and Total Factor Productivity: An Empirical Study of the Listed Companies in the Coastal Regions of China

Wang, J.; Zhang, Q., and Li, Q., 2020. R&D investment and total factor productivity: An empirical study of the listed companies in the coastal regions of China. In: Gong, D.; Zhang, M., and Liu, R. (eds.), Advances in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 106, pp. 13–16. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Under the strategy of innovation-driven development, how to improve total factor productivity (TFP) through innovation is the key to promote high-quality economic development. This paper takes the Chinese coastal listed companies as research objects and studies the effect of research and development (R&D) investment on TFP. Research shows that R&D investment has a significant role in promoting TFP, and there is a U-curve relationship between them. Further research shows that the promotion effect of R&D investment on TFP will vary according to the nature of property rights, the degree of financing constraints, and the level of marketization. These provide empirical evidence for coastal listed companies to effectively promote TFP through R&D investment.