Rich on Paper? Chinese Firms’ Academic Publications, Patents, and Market Value

By combining various databases of academic publications and patents of China’s publicly listed firms, we explore the effects of academic publications on firm values and possible mechanisms. We find that Chinese firms’ academic publications are positively associated with their market valuation; more importantly, such a positive relation is more pronounced when these firms have stronger patent records, highlighting a synergy between basic research and applied technologies. Mechanism tests indicate that firm’s academic publications promote their market values through enhancing their human capital and sending credible signals to professional investors and the general public. Additional tests show that publications in English-language journals are more value-relevant than in Chinese-language journals.