. "2 Why Are Science and Technology Critical to America's Prosperity in the 21st Century?." Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2007.
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Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future
FIGURE 2-3 Gross domestic product during the 20th century. In the 20th century, US per capita gross domestic product (GDP) rose almost 7-fold.
SOURCE: S. Moore, J. L. Simon, and the CATO Institute. “The Greatest Century That Ever Was: 25 Miraculous Trends of fhe Past 100 Years.” Policy Analysis, No. 364, December 15, 1999. Pp. 1-32.
aggregate (28%),9 and slightly higher rates of return for pharmaceutical products in particular (30%).10 Modern agriculture continues to respond, and the average return on investment for public funding of agricultural research for member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is estimated at 45%.11
Starting in the middle 1990s, investments in computers and information technology started to show payoffs in US productivity. The economy grew faster and employment rose more than had seemed possible without
9
E. Mansfield. “Academic Research and Industrial Innovation.” Research Policy 20(1991): 1-12.
10
A. Scott, G. Steyn, A. Geuna, S. Brusoni, and W. E. Steinmeuller. “The Economic Returns of Basic Research and the Benefits of University-Industry Relationships.” Science and Technology Policy Research. Brighton: University of Sussex, 2001. Available at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/documents/review_for_ost_final.pdf.
11
R. E. Evenson. Economic Impacts of Agricultural Research and Extension. In B. L. Gardner and G. C. Rausser, eds. Handbook of Agricultural Economics Vol. 1. Rotterdam: Elsevier, 2001. Pp. 573-628.
