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IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

 

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate Over Government Policy

Wendy H. Schacht, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy

February 23, 2010

http://opencrs.com/document/RL33528/2010-02-23/download/1013/

[full-text, 15 pages]

 

Summary

There is ongoing interest in the pace of U.S. technological advancement due to its influence on

U.S. economic growth, productivity, and international competitiveness. Because technology can

contribute to economic growth and productivity increases, congressional attention has focused on

how to augment private-sector technological development. Legislative activity over the past 25 or

more years has created a policy for technology development, albeit an ad hoc one. Because of the

lack of consensus on the scope and direction of a national policy, Congress has taken an

incremental approach aimed at creating new mechanisms to facilitate technological advancement

in particular areas and making changes and improvements as necessary.

 

Congressional action has mandated specific technology development programs and obligations in

federal agencies. Many programs were created based upon what individual committees judged

appropriate within the agencies over which they had authorization or appropriation

responsibilities. However, there has been recent legislative activity directed at eliminating or

significantly curtailing many of these federal efforts. Although, for the most part, this approach

has not been adopted, the budgets for several programs have declined.

 

The proper role of the federal government in technology development and the competitiveness of

U.S. industry continues to be a topic of congressional debate. Current legislation affecting the

R&D environment have included both direct and indirect measures to facilitate technological

innovation. In general, direct measures are those which involve budget outlays and the provision

of services by government agencies. Indirect measures include financial incentives and legal

changes (e.g., liability or regulatory reform; new antitrust arrangements). As the 111th Congress

develops its budget priorities, the manner by which the government encourages technological

progress in the private sector again may be explored and/or redefined.

 

Contents

Technology and Competitiveness ................................................................................................1

The Federal Role in Technology Development ............................................................................1

Legislative Initiatives and Current Programs ...............................................................................4

Increased R&D Spending......................................................................................................5

Industry-University Cooperative Efforts..........................................................................6

Joint Industrial Research .................................................................................................8

Commercialization of the Results of Federally Funded R&D...........................................8

Different Approach?............................................................................................................ 11

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................12

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This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
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