Revving the Engine of Innovation
Funding for research and development has seen a sizable shift over the years from the federal government to corporations.
Support from the federal government has waned, from nearly 2% of gross domestic product during the 1960s to about 0.6% today. Over the same time, corporate R&D has grown to nearly 2% of GDP, from less than 0.6% of GDP in the age of the Apollo program.
Now more than half of the government’s R&D goes towards defense projects, while many large companies look to acquire successful startups rather than try to fuel innovation in-house. The government has contributed many core innovations like the internet and GPS as well as indispensable research on space.
Should the government look to bolster their R&D capabilities to previous levels or just leave it to the corporations?
