r&d

The study released by the Council for Chemical Research and commissioned by 27 chemical companies, laboratories, and government agencies reveals the importance and benefits of increased private and public research and development investment for the sector. The study includes econometric, bibliometric and historical analyses of chemical research investment.

The Commerce Department’s Office of Technology Policy report indicates research and development investment in 2000 rose sharply by 9.3 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, increasing from $145.6 billion in 1999 to an estimated $162.7 billion in 2000. The increase reverses a five-year trend of slowing annual percentage increases in corporate R&D investment and approaches the high of a 10.2 percent annual increase set in 1995.

The report provides suggestions for an analytical framework to conduct the five-year assessment as well as an initial evaluation of the states research and development (R&D) support. The appendices include five case studies examining five of the larger R&D investments the state has made recently in the Maine Technology Institute, advanced engineered wood composites, biomedical research, aquaculture, and the small enterprise growth fund.

The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy report offers information on federal research activity and investment in each state. The 700-page on-line publication provides a level of detail for federal research and development in each state.

Is public R&D spending complementary and thus “additional” to private R&D spending, or does it
substitute for and tend to “crowd out” private R&D? Conflicting answers are given to this question. The authors survey the body of available econometric evidence accumulated over the past 35 years.

This article critically reviews the literature on the economic benefits of publicly funded basic research. According to the authors, from the literature based on surveys and on case studies, it is clear that the benefits from public investment in basic research can take a variety of forms.

The report provides an assessment of the economic value of medical research to challenge economists who are inclined to be skeptical about the efficiency of the “market” for health services in
general and government directed medical research in particular.

SSTIs President and Research Director co-authored the report that identifies research and development (R&D) as a fundamental economic development building block in the new economy and calls on states to invest in universities and the private sector as ways to ensure that they have strong R&D bases.

The data brief from the National Science Foundation reports that two-thirds of all U.S. research and development (R&D) expenditures in 1997 were concentrated in just ten states. The brief also graphically presents the ten-year trends for state R&D expenditures. Also of note are the state rankings by R&D intensity, as measured by R&D expenditures as a percentage of gross state product.

Battelle Memorial Institute and the National Science Foundation report indicates total research and development investment in the United States was strong in 2000, and is expected to increase about five percent in 2001. Battelle predicts that industry will continue to emphasize various forms of partnering and collaborations, including relationships with other industry, federal laboratories and international facilities.