Impact of Government Incentives on Digital Content Creators in Malaysia: An Empirical Study

Abstract

The emergence of the digital creative content industry in Malaysia, highlighted in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan, reflects the nation’s pursuit of a share in the global digital market. Government initiatives, manifested through grants and incentives, aim to bolster the industry, but their effectiveness remains uncertain. This study explores the impact of these initiatives on digital content creators, utilising firm-level databases from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. Employing parametric tests, the stochastic frontier model, and the panel model, the research reveals that pairing small funds with effective developmental programs yields superior results. Grant recipients exhibit notable growth in job creation ‒ particularly among local skilled workers ‒ heightened research and development (R&D) activity, and increased productivity and profits. Future grant policies should incorporate knowledge sharing from successful recipients and emphasise mentoring, while also supporting industrial training for educators to align curricula with industry expectations.