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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Policy analysis: he who pays the piper: federal funding of research

Book ·
OSTI ID:5112255

Federal support for research has tended to inhibit speculative investment from private sources. This has led to a compartmentalization that discourages innovation and funding uncertainties that reflect bureaucratic an political fluctuations. The current debate over whether federal spending for military research and development has a positive spin-off effect on the civilian economy introduces questions of academic freedom and of open inquiry and information exchange. Whether private industry, hampered by antitrust laws in joint research efforts, can provide adequate support without federal funding is questionable, but the report concludes that only decentralization can encourage creativity and innovation. 65 references.

OSTI ID:
5112255
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English