The Role of Industry Classification in the Estimation of Research and Development Expenditures
November 2014
Working Paper Number:
CES-14-45
Abstract
This paper uses data from the National Science Foundation's surveys on business research and development (R&D) expenditures that have been linked with data from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database to produce consistent NAICS-based R&D time-series data based on the main product produced by the firm for 1976 to 2008.The results show that R&D spending has shifted away from domestic manufacturing industries in recent years. This is due in part to a shift in U.S. payrolls away from manufacturing establishments for R&D-performing firms.These findings support the notion of an increasingly fragmented production system for R&D-intensive manufacturing firms, whereby U.S. firms control output and provide intellectual property inputs in the form of R&D, but production takes place outside of the firms' U.S. establishments.
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production,
manufacturing,
payroll,
enterprise,
industrial,
sale,
company,
manufacturer,
acquisition,
industry productivity,
produce,
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expenditure,
revenue,
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manufacturing industries
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National Science Foundation,
Bureau of Economic Analysis,
Census Bureau Longitudinal Business Database,
Longitudinal Business Database,
Survey of Industrial Research and Development,
North American Industry Classification System
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