Research and development in the growth process

Abstract

This paper introduces into Schumpeterian growth theory an important element of heterogeneity in the structure of innovative activity—namely, the distinction between research and development. We construct a simple model of growth to investigate how the (steady-state) rate of growth affects and is affected by the relative mix between research and development. Although we assume for simplicity that the total supply of innovative activity is given it turns out that, with one important exception, the growth rate responds to most parameter changes in the same way as in previous models where growth was determined by the total amount of innovative activity. In particular, the level of research tends to covary positively with the rate of growth, even in the extreme case where the general knowledge that underlies long-run growth is created only by secondary innovations arising from the development process. The exception concerns the effects of competition on growth. Although simpler Schumpeterian growth models implied that increased competition would reduce growth by reducing the incentive to innovate, introducing the distinction between research and development implies that this effect is likely to be reversed.