Measuring the Economic Value of Research

The scientific advances that underpin economic growth and human health would not be possible without research investments. Yet demonstrating the impact of research programs is a challenge, especially in areas that span disciplines, industrial sectors, and encompass both public and private sector activity. All areas of research are under pressure to demonstrate benefits from federal funding of research. This exciting and innovative study demonstrates new methods and tools to trace the impact of federal research funding on the structure of research, and the subsequent economic activities of funded researchers. The case study is food safety research, which is critical to avoiding outbreaks of disease. The authors make use of an extraordinary new data infrastructure and apply new techniques in text analysis. Focusing on the impact of US federal food safety research, this book develops vital data-intensive methodologies that have a real world application to many other scientific fields.

Author Biography

Kaye Husbands Fealing is Chair of the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She was inaugural Director of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Science of Science and Innovation Policy program; study director at the National Academy of Sciences; and an Executive Board member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Julia I. Lane is a Professor at the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, at the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress, and a NYU Provostial Fellow for Innovation Analytics. Julia has published over 70 articles in leading economics journals, and authored or edited ten books. She is an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association, the International Statistical Institute and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. John L. King is an economist and researcher in innovation and science policy. During a fifteen-year career at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service and Office of the Chief Scientist, his research has examined intellectual property, industry structure, and research impacts, both in the food and agriculture sector and more broadly. Stanley R. Johnson is a Distinguished Professor of Economics-Emeritus at Iowa State University and Assistant to the Dean for Special Projects in the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources at the University of Nevada, Reno. He also serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, Washington, DC.