In fifteen years, financial support for innovation from public authorities has doubled in constant euros. The decision to continually allocate more resources to this policy has been maintained throughout political changes.
This effort has been devoted to a national ambition: to place the French economy sustainably at the technological frontier, ensure its competitiveness by upgrading the quality of its goods and services, and, to use Philippe Aghion’s phrase, complete the transformation from an old “imitation economy” to an “innovation economy.”
The objective remains unquestionable. Both the rapid quality improvement of emerging countries and the commercial success of our partners who have focused on novelty and quality confirm that if an advanced country like ours wants to maintain its standard of living and defend its positions in international markets, it must imperatively play this card.
The capacity for innovation in an economy depends at least as much on the education level of its workforce, the quality of its economic and social institutions, the depth of its financial market, its taxation, and, to sum it up, the mindset of its researchers, entrepreneurs, and employees, as it does on the financial effort of the national community.
Nevertheless, the choice and calibration of innovation support policies are crucial factors. It is important to assess their effectiveness and efficiency.
A common rule in public policy is that there should be as many instruments as there are objectives pursued.
A large-scale institutional reorganization has been carried out with the establishment of two major entities: the General Investment Commission (CGI), which manages the Future Investment Programs (PIA), and the Public Investment Bank (Bpifrance), which supports and finances companies’ innovation efforts. The innovation programs of the PIA represent on average 57% of direct support annually, and Bpifrance’s financing, in subsidy equivalent, accounts for 37% (including PIA actions managed by Bpifrance).
The objective of increasing private R&D capacities today mobilizes more than two-thirds of the public funds allocated to innovation, amounting to 6 billion euros, mainly through the Research Tax Credit (CIR).
Next comes the support for the development of innovative companies, which, with 1.4 billion euros, represents nearly 16.4% of the support. Like the first objective, it mobilizes the same proportion of total support as in 2000, but both their volume and the diversity of the measures have significantly increased.
The three other objectives taken together account for 13.4% of total support but involve 32 different measures. Thus, there is a coexistence of a large number of relatively small measures.
Regions have established themselves as important actors in innovation policies. The census of regional aids conducted by the commission allows for an appreciation of their contribution to general goals. Even though the support they mobilize is limited to 5.4% of the total, they represent 15.2% of direct support.
The European Union, with 4.5% of the total and 12.7% of direct aid, is an almost equally significant actor.
