The two decades spanning 1988–2011 evidenced considerable growth in funding for academic research and development in science and engineering (S&E), and smaller growth in the number of academic researchers and in the number of academic scientific publications. After adjustment for inflation,[2] expenditures for academic R&D in S&E almost tripled during this period, rising from $17.3 billion to $49.7 billion. Throughout most of this period, funding for academic R&D in S&E grew steadily, with rapid increases from the late 1990s until around 2005 and slower growth since then. There was also steady but slower growth in the number of U.S.-trained academic researchers and in the number of annual academic sector publications.
[2] All dollar values listed in this paper are adjusted to constant 2005 dollars using the GDP deflator.