Latest statistics
US spends about 2.5% of GDP on R&D in most years, give or take a few tenths of a percent. Germany, Japan, and South Korea spend more.
China spends a lower share of GDP on R&D, but the share has been rising even as China’s GDP has also been growing quite rapidly.
Global R&D:The Stagnant US Position
By: Timothy Taylor – Journal of Economic Perspectives
The case for public R&D
R&D spending in the government sector (including the research institutes) is highest in Germany as compared to Japan, the UK, the US and the average EU 28 country. The German firm R&D support strategy, from 1995 to 2015, mainly consisted of funding public R&D undertaken by (publicly funded) research institutes and universities. Germany did not offer super-deductions for R&D expenditures or a lower tax rate on returns from R&D investment in the form of a patent box as introduced in several European countries over the last two decades. Koch and Simler, in this paper, evaluate how successful Germany’s strategy has been is supporting firm R&D. They find:
- Public R&D seems to impact in particular R&D by local small firms;
- Non-specific knowledge spillovers may be very influential as they allow firms to focus on innovation strategies that are more likely to be successful.
How Important are Local Knowledge Spillovers of Public R&D and What Drives Them?
Authors: Leonie Koch, Martin Simmler
From: Ludwig Maximilian University, Oxford University
