Measuring the social return to R&D

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Jones, CI; Williams, JC
• 署名单位: Stanford University; Federal Reserve System - USA
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1162/003355398555856
• 发表日期: 1998
• 页码: 1119-1135
• 关键词: productivity growth; TECHNOLOGY FLOWS; ECONOMIC-GROWTH; spillovers; FIRMS

摘要

Is there too much or too little research and development (R&D)? In this paper we bridge the gap between the recent growth literature and the empirical productivity literature. We derive in a growth model the relationship between the social rate of return to R&D and the coefficient estimates of the empirical literature and show that these estimates represent a lower bound. Furthermore, our analytic framework provides a direct mapping from the rate of return to the degree of underinvestment in research. Conservative estimates suggest that optimal R&D investment is at least two to four times actual investment.