The impact of research and development on economic growth

Abstract

There have been a lot of studies by various economists to identify the sources of economic growth and a lot of factors have been identified as leading sources; human capital accumulation, total factor productivity and many others. This thesis suggests Research and Development R&D as one of the key sources of economic growth. Economies have resorted to various approaches to boost their growth. Some have chosen an inward oriented economy based on self reliance while others have chosen to import external goods and technology as much as possible. The focus of this research work is to determine the impact of Research and development (R&D) activities on the economic growth of a nation. The study makes inferences using economic empirical data, ideas in international economics, general management knowledge, business strategy and business development knowledge. It refers to the work of many renowned economists. A closer review is done on some selected papers, and best practice in R&D is examined by looking at the R&D frontier (USA) main focus on the United States patent industry. Also, the activities of a company involved in R&D are examined and two economies where there is little or no R&D are studied to see the differences, to make comparisons and to make recommendations on how R&D can be improved in a country.