A substantial portion of patents (28.2 percent in 2017) rely on government-funded research.

Fact of the Week: Twenty-Eight Percent of Patents by U.S. Inventors in 2017 Relied on Federal Research

A recent study highlights the critical role the U.S. government played in financing and developing patented technologies coming out of regional technology clusters.

Fact of the Week: R&D Spending During WWII Spurred a Sustained Wave of Innovation That Lasted Through the 1970s

The origins of many technologies can be traced to an initial investment of U.S. federal research and development (R&D) support.

Federally Supported Innovations

The government-funded research initiatives that sustain our intellectual infrastructure—the body of scientific knowledge that underpins success in all other domains—must continue and receive more support than they have previously.

Government Funding: The Unsung Hero of Innovation and Progress

In a recent working paper, economist Jacob Mascona found that the protections led to more innovation and higher yields for the affected crops—specifically, in the ten years following the introduction of the protections, affected crops saw a 119 percent relative increase in the development of novel plant varieties (translating to an additional 11 varieties developed each year) and an 11 percent increase in crop yields.

Fact of the Week: Enhanced Patent Protections Led to Increased Innovation and Productivity in the US Agricultural Sector

The Chinese government funds an exceptionally large amount of R&D, with direct government subsidies accounting for a quarter of the country’s total R&D spending in 2015. As such, how well the government allocates those funds plays an outsized role in determining how innovative the nation can be.

Fact of the Week: Following China’s Anti-Corruption Campaign, Highly Productive Firms Received 44 Percent More R&D Subsidies

Fact of the Week: Following China's Anti-Corruption Campaign, Highly Productive Firms Received 44 Percent More R&D Subsidies

Public support for R&D is critical to bridge the gap in incentivizing technological progress. Three Portuguese economists examined the investment impact of tax incentives for “intangible investments,” another term for non-physical investments that increase productivity, such as human capital, software, and innovation.

Fact of the Week: Portuguese R&D Tax Incentives Spurred Investments in Productivity-Boosting Assets by 0.8 to 2.4 Percent Of Firms’ Total Assets

Fact of the Week: Portuguese R&D Tax Incentives Spurred Investments in Productivity-Boosting Assets by 0.8 to 2.4 Percent Of Firms' Total Assets

Government R&D accounted for about one-quarter, on average, of a business sector’s TFP growth since World War II.

Fact of the Week: Government R&D Appropriations Account for About One-Quarter of Business-Sector TFP Growth Since World War II

From 2004 to 2014, IT investment and adoption contributed 1.4 percentage points annually to U.S. productivity growth, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Government Support for Innovation Is a Critical Driver of Technological Complexity

Related

Fact of the Week: Twenty-Eight Percent of Patents by U.S. Inventors in 2017 Relied on Federal Research

Fact of the Week: R&D Spending During WWII Spurred a Sustained Wave of Innovation That Lasted Through the 1970s

Federally Supported Innovations