Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth /
Kantor, Shawn.
Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth / Shawn Kantor, Alexander T. Whalley. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w31471 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31471. .
July 2023.
We estimate the long-term effect of public R&D on growth in manufacturing by analyzing new data from the Cold War era Space Race. We develop a novel empirical strategy that leverages US-Soviet rivalry in space technology to isolate windfall R&D spending. Our results demonstrate that public R&D conducted by NASA contractors increased manufacturing value added, employment, and capital accumulation in space related sectors. While migration responses were important, they were not sufficient to generate a wedge between local and national effects. The iconic Moonshot R&D program had meaningful economic effects for both the local and national space related sectors. Yet the magnitudes of the estimated effects seem to align with those of other non-R&D types of government expenditures.
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Infrastructures • Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
U.S. • Canada: 1913–
U.S. • Canada: 1913–
Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth / Shawn Kantor, Alexander T. Whalley. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w31471 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31471. .
July 2023.
We estimate the long-term effect of public R&D on growth in manufacturing by analyzing new data from the Cold War era Space Race. We develop a novel empirical strategy that leverages US-Soviet rivalry in space technology to isolate windfall R&D spending. Our results demonstrate that public R&D conducted by NASA contractors increased manufacturing value added, employment, and capital accumulation in space related sectors. While migration responses were important, they were not sufficient to generate a wedge between local and national effects. The iconic Moonshot R&D program had meaningful economic effects for both the local and national space related sectors. Yet the magnitudes of the estimated effects seem to align with those of other non-R&D types of government expenditures.
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Infrastructures • Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
U.S. • Canada: 1913–
U.S. • Canada: 1913–
Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes