Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth / Shawn Kantor, Alexander T. Whalley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kantor, Shawn.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Whalley, Alexander T.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31471.

NBER working paper series no. w31471

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.

Summary:

We estimate the long-term effect of public R&D on growth in manufacturing by analyzing new data from the Cold War era Space Race. We develop a novel empirical strategy that leverages US-Soviet rivalry in space technology to isolate windfall R&D spending. Our results demonstrate that public R&D conducted by NASA contractors increased manufacturing value added, employment, and capital accumulation in space related sectors. While migration responses were important, they were not sufficient to generate a wedge between local and national effects. The iconic Moonshot R&D program had meaningful economic effects for both the local and national space related sectors. Yet the magnitudes of the estimated effects seem to align with those of other non-R&D types of government expenditures.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2023.