Policy Issues for R&D Investment in a Knowledge-Based Economy

Published

December 31, 2004

Author(s)

Gregory C. Tassey

Abstract

The ‘‘Internet Revolution’’ induced an unbalanced perspective on future economic growth strategies. Because information technology (IT) largely constitutes an infrastructure upon which other economic activity is based, its economic role is to facilitate the productivity of investment in a wide range of products and services that meet final demand. Other economies around the world can and are investing in the same infrastructure, so the efficiency advantages now being realized by the U.S. economy will be fleeting unless U.S. R&D efforts produce a new and broad range of innovative products and services that take advantage of this infrastructure. This paper presents a conceptual framework and available data as inputs for the analysis of Federal R&D investment strategies. Such strategies must recognize the full range of public and private technology assets constituting a national innovation system. A developed and efficient innovation system has characteristics making imitation by foreign competitors difficult and thereby enables sustained competitive advantage.

Citation

Journal Of Technology Transfer

Volume

29

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

policy, R&D, research and development, economy, economist

Citation

Tassey, G. (2004), Policy Issues for R&D Investment in a Knowledge-Based Economy, Journal Of Technology Transfer, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=912230 (Accessed February 8, 2026)