Fact of the Week: US R&D Is Estimated To Have Increased to $792 Billion in 2021

Although Congress made permanent the research and development tax credit in 2015, the federal government and states still can do more—a 10 percent increase in R&D tax credit generosity permanently increases labor productivity by 0.4 percent per year, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Increasing R&D Tax Credit by 10 Percent Could Boost Labor Productivity Growth by 0.4 Percent Per Year

U.S. society captured four-fifths of the total returns on R&D (with the private sector gaining one-fifth) in the 2010s, up from three-fourths in the 1980s, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: The Ratio of Societal to Private Returns From Investment in R&D Increased From 3:1 in 1980 to 4:1 in 2015

Proponents of R&D tax credits argue that reducing the costs businesses face to innovate encourages them to invest more into R&D. A recent study of county-level data between 1990 and 2010 provides evidence to support this argument.

Fact of the Week: Implementing an R&D Tax Credit Increases a State’s Rate of Business Formation by 7.5 Percent

Fact of the Week: Implementing an R&D Tax Credit Increases a State's Rate of Business Formation by 7.5 Percent

Federal spending on R&D has spurred job creation, directly and indirectly supporting more than 1.6 million jobs in 2018, according to a recent report that PWC prepared for Breakthrough Energy.

Fact of the Week: US Investment in R&D Supported 1.6 Million Jobs in 2018

Defense spending is the main source of public R&D investment in the United States, totaling $78 billion in 2016. A new study examines the impacts of defense R&D investment by leveraging the dramatic increases in defense R&D investment across the OECD in the years following 2001.

Fact of the Week: A 10 Percent Increase in Public Investment in Defense R&D Increases Private R&D Investment by 4.3 Percent

A working paper indicates that the rate of return on R&D is between 150 to 300 percent, implying that there has been historical underinvestment in R&D for nondefense use.

Fact of the Week: Public Investments in Nondefense R&D Have Rates of Return Between 150 to 300 Percent

When universities invest in R&D, they can generate returns for themselves of up to 9 percent, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: When Universities Invest In R&D, They Can Generate Returns For Themselves Of Up To 9 Percent

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: US R&D Value Added Has Increased by 63 Percent from 2013 to 2023

Related

Fact of the Week: US R&D Is Estimated To Have Increased to $792 Billion in 2021

Fact of the Week: Increasing R&D Tax Credit by 10 Percent Could Boost Labor Productivity Growth by 0.4 Percent Per Year

Fact of the Week: The Ratio of Societal to Private Returns From Investment in R&D Increased From 3:1 in 1980 to 4:1 in 2015