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Frontiers
Early Data Show Decline in 1995 R&D Spending
January 1996
While the final tallies are not yet in, researchers
predict that U.S. research and development (R&D) expenditures declined
in 1995.
The total is expected to reach $171 billion, according to a report from the Division
of Science Resources Studies. "After adjusting for expected inflation, this 1995
figure represents a 2 percent decrease in spending," writes John Jankowski, Jr.,
Program Director, who used surveys conducted by NSF and others in making his
predictions.
The expected decline is due to decreased industrial and Federal support, he writes.
In 1995, industry accounted for $102 billion, or 59% of total R&D expenditures,
while the Federal government spent $61 billion, or 36% of the total. After taking
inflation into account, funding from these two groups declined by 1% and 3% respectively.
The remaining 5%, or $9 billion, was spent by State governments, universities
and colleges, and other nonprofit organizations. "Academia is the only sector
in which inflation-adjusted R&D performance is expected to increase in 1995,
although by a mere .4 percent," writes Jankowski.
The 1995 decline in R&D spending is the continuation of a trend that began
in the early part of this decade. After a period of fast growth in the early
1980s, R&D expenditures slowed. By 1992, the tide had turned, and both the
Federal government and industry were spending less on R&D in real terms.
International R&D spending is also in decline, Jankowski writes. Due to governmental
budgetary constraints, R&D spending has dropped in both Germany and Japan,
the two largest investors in R&D after the United States.
For a copy of this data brief, call SRS at (703) 292-8774, or send an e-mail
to srsweb@nsf.gov.
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