Environmental Obligations of Public Transportation
In many of Israel’s urban centers, air pollution levels represent a public health hazard. Conservative estimates indicate that over 1000 people die each year in Israel because of exposure to high levels of air pollution. The main contributor to urban air pollution is vehicular traffic. The number of vehicles on Israeli roads is constantly growing, […]
Gender Issues in Computer Science and Software Engineering
This research focuses on women in the software industry. It addresses three sub-topics: Female high-school pupils studying of computer science: Formal and informal data indicate that the percentages of the high-school female pupils who study computer science at the level of 5 points (the higher level) of the matriculation exam remain relatively low (about 25%). […]
A Micro-Economic Approach to Government Support of R&D Investments in the Private Sector, Science, Technology and the Economy Program (STE) – Workin
This paper focuses on the economic decisions of the government to subsidize investments in the private sector, and to discriminate among firms in its support programs. The presumption is that, by taxing corporate profits the government, affects investment decisions made by corporations and causes them to invest less than what would be socially optimal. Accordingly, […]
Development of Sustainable Agriculture Under Drought Conditions
The research aims to study the agriculture of Israel under sever drought conditions, and sharp raise in water prices. Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in Israel. Raising the price of water would mean that around 10% of the agricultural land in Israel would be changed from irrigated to non-irrigated land. Such change would […]
The Impact of R&D Spillover on Growth and Productivity in Israeli Manufacturing Industries 1990-1994, Science, Technology and the Economy Program (STE) – Working Papers Series STE-WP-14
The study presents the positive external effects (spillovers) of investments in research and development in manufacturing industries, in Israel and abroad. This examination quantifies the spillover of domestic and imported technologies, through intermediates and capital goods, to establishments that did not participate directly in the research and development process. The analysis examines the interactions between […]
Universal Banking and Investment in R&D Intensive Companies an Empirical Analysis STE-WP-15 , 2002
This study provides a new insight to why Israeli R&D intensive companies float their equity on foreign markets. A variety of studies have tackled this issue but very few discuss the relationship between strong universal banks who dominate various areas of the financial sector and availability of funds for commercially driven technology research. The study […]
Evaluation of the Technological Incubator Program in Israel (and the Projects Operating Within It) – A Decade After its Establishment
The research project was carried out under the Fifth Framework Program of the European Union. The main objective of the research was to examine the efficiency and adequacy of the Israeli Technological Incubators Program as a vehicle for fostering the growth of the High-Tech industry, and as a model for European countries in general and […]
Rethinking Higher Education in Israel – the Colleges, University Education and Human Resources
The subcommittee recommends that higher education in Israel be expanded and based on three institution types: Research Universities, Academic Colleges [the equivalent of the American Four Year Colleges], and Community Colleges [to be established]. The Research Universities should emphasize graduate studies [M.A. and M.Sc. with thesis and Ph.D.] and restructure their undergraduate curricula towards […]
Incentives and Invention in Universities, Science, Technology and the Economy Program (STE) – Working Papers Series STE-WP-18-2003
We show that economic incentives affect the number and commercial value of inventions generated in universities. Using panel data for 102 U.S. universities during the period 1991-1999, we find that universities which give higher royalty shares to academic scientists generate more inventions and higher license income, controlling for other factors including university size, quality, research […]
Financing R&D in Mature Companies: An Empirical Analysis, Science, Technology and the Economy Program (STE) – Working Papers Series STE-WP-10
R&D intensive firms are often described as (1) relying mainly on equity financing; (2) investing primarily in intangible assets; (3) exhibiting a high market to book ratio (a high Tobin’s q); and (4) as being young and fast growing. We put these commonplace characterizations to systematic empirical tests. For our sample of Israeli manufacturing firms […]