Fueling the fire? How government support drives technological progress and complexity

IF 7.5 1区管理学 Q1 MANAGEMENT Research Policy Pub Date : 2024-05-28 DOI:10.1016/j.respol.2024.105005

Carolin Nast , Tom Broekel , Doris Entner

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Abstract

This study investigated two major trends shaping contemporary technological progress: the growing complexity of innovation and the increasing reliance on government support for private research and development (R&D). We analyzed United States patent data from 1981 to 2016 using structural vector autoregressions and uncovered an indirect interplay between these trends. Our findings showed that government incentives and support played a crucial role in spurring private-sector innovation. This government-fueled innovation, in turn, paved the way for advancements in more intricate and sophisticated technological areas.

Our study sheds light on the dual role of the United States' innovation policy over the past four decades; the policy has not only accelerated technological advancement but also steered it toward increasingly complex domains. While this trend presents opportunities for economic growth and technological breakthroughs, it also poses challenges, including the potential for further escalating R&D costs. This research has significant implications for policymakers and industry leaders, suggesting a need for a balanced approach to fostering innovation while considering the long-term economic and technological landscape.

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火上浇油？政府支持如何推动技术进步和复杂性

本研究调查了影响当代技术进步的两大趋势：创新的日益复杂性和对政府支持私人研发（R&D）的日益依赖。我们利用结构向量自回归分析了 1981 年至 2016 年的美国专利数据，发现了这些趋势之间的间接相互作用。我们的研究结果表明，政府的激励和支持在刺激私营部门创新方面发挥了至关重要的作用。我们的研究揭示了美国创新政策在过去 40 年中的双重作用；该政策不仅加速了技术进步，还引导技术向日益复杂的领域发展。这一趋势为经济增长和技术突破带来了机遇，但同时也带来了挑战，包括研发成本进一步攀升的可能性。这项研究对政策制定者和行业领导者具有重要意义，表明需要采取一种平衡的方法来促进创新，同时考虑到长期的经济和技术前景。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Research Policy MANAGEMENT-

CiteScore

12.80

自引率

6.90%

发文量

182

期刊介绍： Research Policy (RP) articles explore the interaction between innovation, technology, or research, and economic, social, political, and organizational processes, both empirically and theoretically. All RP papers are expected to provide insights with implications for policy or management. Research Policy (RP) is a multidisciplinary journal focused on analyzing, understanding, and effectively addressing the challenges posed by innovation, technology, R&D, and science. This includes activities related to knowledge creation, diffusion, acquisition, and exploitation in the form of new or improved products, processes, or services, across economic, policy, management, organizational, and environmental dimensions.