DAT: Scientists and Engineers as Agents of Technological Progress: Measuring the Returns to R&D and the Economic Impact of Science & Engineering Workers

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The project develops datasets and methods to estimate the economic return to R&D spending and the impact of both R&D and non-R&D science and engineering (S&E) workers on economic outcomes, and to assess the effects of the mobility of S&E workers on economic productivity. Existing data from multiple government (Census, NSF, BLS) and other archival sources are matched and linked together to create an "Amalgamated Science and Engineering Impact" (ASEI) database. The database includes measures of output and inputs of firms and plants, R&D expenditures of firms and universities, patents of firms and other organizations, S&E employment by industry and geography, and the mobility of workers across firms and plants.The research connects diverse measures of S&E activity to outcomes in the economy overall and in different sectors. The project produces:1. Updated estimates of private returns to R&D, not only in the widely studied manufacturing sector, but also in other sectors of the economy, and for small firms as well as large firms; 2. New estimates of the social returns to R&D, using measures of "spillover" R&D stock based on geographic region, industry sector, and technology proximity;3. Estimates of the effect of own R&D and spillover R&D on patent output and market value of firms, and of the effect of patents on productivity of firms;4. Estimates of the impact of non-R&D S&E employment on firms? productivity, patents, and other outcomes;5. Estimates of the mobility of S&E workers across firms and plants, and of the effect of S&E worker mobility on economic outcomes;6. Estimates of the impact of R&D on the changing demand for labor with different skill levels. Broader ImpactsThe outcomes from this research inform policymakers about the contribution of science and engineering to the U.S. economy, consistent with the goals of the NSF SciSIP program. The research provides evidence on the changing returns to R&D in the U.S., on the mobility and impact of S&E workers in the U.S. economy, and on the future demand for labor with different types of skills. The new ASEI database and analytical methods enable rapid updating of estimated results on a regular basis. This can provide policymakers with timely data and analysis on policy issues of interest.