Persistence of cooperation on innovation: Econometric evidence from panel micro data

Arrangements to cooperate on innovation facilitate access to external sources of knowledge. Using panel data derived from five waves of Community Innovation Survey in the Czech Republic, we examine whether firms engage in these arrangements persistently or rather revert to other behaviour. Econometric estimates of dynamic random effects and multivariate probit models provide strong support to the thesis of persistence, particularly of linkages with the university sector and suppliers. The results are robust to the initial conditions problem and serial correlation in idiosyncratic errors. Government programs initiating cooperation on innovation therefore have the potential to induce durable changes in the innovative behaviour of firms.