National Science Board raps industrial R&D lag

The 1980s, as the Bush Administration boasts, were the longest sustained stretch of economic growth in U.S. history. Yet, during that time a paradoxical thing happened: U.S. industry became less technologically competitive than ever. Between 1980 and 1985, industrial R&D spending grew an average of 7.3% a year. But between 1985 and 1990, it plummeted to a 1.6% average—and actually declined in constant-dollar terms last year. It is not expected to rise much this year. That is bad news for the long-term outlook for the U.S. economy, says a report released last week by a panel of the National Science Board, the board of directors of the National Science Foundation. The panel of five NSB members was cochaired by Roland W. Schmitt, president of Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Arden L. Bement, TRW research director. Among other gloomy facts, the panel especially bemoans the "evaporation of U.S. firms' share of global markets for an increasing ...