Governments are frequently concerned that firms are not conducting sufficient research and development (R&D). Throughout the 1990s, the level of business expenditure in the UK in this area, as a percentage of GDP, declined significantly relative to other G5 countries. This was mostly due to a reduction of intensity of R&D within manufacturing industries rather than a sectoral shift of activity towards low-R&D sectors.
Authors
Laura Abramovsky
Laura is a Research Fellow at IFS. Her current work focuses on tax and social protection policy and programme evaluation in developing countries.
Rupert Harrison
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