r&d

Academic Freedom, Private-Sector Focus, and the Process of Innovation

The authors develop a model that clarifies the respective advantages and disadvantages of academic and private-sector research. Results indicate that by serving as a precommitment mechanism that allows scientists to freely pursue their own interests, academia can be indispensable for early-stage research. At the same time, the private sector’s ability to direct scientists towards higher-payoff activities makes it more attractive for later-stage research.

Universities Continue to Expand Their Research Space with the Largest Increase Since 1988; Data Reported for Networking Capacity

According to the National Science Foundations biennial survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities, research-performing colleges and universities reported an 11 percent increase in the amount of research space from FY 2001 to FY 2003, for a total of approximately 173 million net assignable square feet.

University Funding Systems and their Impact on Research and Teaching: A General Framework

This paper addresses the following question: how does a higher education funding system influence the trade-off that universities make between research and teaching? The authors construct a general model that allows universities to choose actively the quality of their teaching and research when faced with different funding systems.

Pro-cyclical R&D Puzzle: Technology Shocks and Pro-cyclical R&D Expenditure

The paper examines the cyclical property of R&D expenditure in the context of endogenous growth, and concludes that substitutability between investing in physical capital and investing in technology/knowledge is a key of the cyclical property of R&D; basically technology shocks accompany counter-cyclical R&D and demand shocks accompany pro-cyclical R&D; and the easiest way to solve the pro-cyclical R&D puzzle is to abandon the conjecture that business cycles are generated mainly by technology shocks.

Early Academis Science and the Birth of Industrial Research Laboratories in the U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry

In this paper, the authors investigate the rise of industrial research laboratories in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry between 1927 and 1946. Evidence suggests that institutional factors, namely the presence of universities dedicated to research, played a significant role in the establishment and diffusion of private pharmaceutical research laboratories.