Government data and research point to a long decline in US corporate investment in upstream research. At the same time, the ratio of federal government R&D spending to GDP is at its lowest level since the early 1950s. How pervasive are these trends across countries, fields, technologies, industries, and firms of different sizes? Are corporate trends explained by global competition, financial market pressures, or other factors? Are there reasons policymakers should be concerned?

The Center for Innovation Policy's conference, "The Decline in Corporate Research: Should We Worry?", was held on March 31, 2017, at Duke's "Duke in D.C." offices.

Panel 1: The Evidence

Moderator: Eduardo Porter, The New York Times
Presentation: Ashish Arora and Sharon Belenzon, Duke Fuqua School of Business

The Decline in Corporate Research: Should We Worry?