Basic Research by Universities Is Critical to U.S. Innovation

"Growth in the stock of knowledge has been the most important factor behind the dramatic rise in living standards in the United States and other countries over the past one hundred years," says Kent Hill, a research professor in the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Hill’s research paper, "Universities in the U.S. National Innovation System," is one of a series of papers written for the Productivity and Prosperity Project (P3), a research agenda being pursued by W. P. Carey School of Business faculty.

"There has been some controversy about how much the public sector should spend on R&D infrastructure and what role universities should play," says Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics and associate dean for research at the W. P. Carey School. This paper, along with the other work already under way, responds to that controversy by articulating the value proposition for universities as performers of basic research, Hoffman says.

Full Story: http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1207