Study on The Investment Structure of Basic Research

Abstract

This paper describes the investment structure of basic research from three dimensions: intensity of basic research, proportion of main investing bodies and application-orientation of basic research. Intensity of basic research in China in 2015 was less than 5%, while that of the United States and Britain was about 17%,that of South Africa was 25%. The proportion of basic research funds from the government in China was about 98%, South Africa’s was about 87%,the proportion of the United States and the United Kingdom was about 70%. The proportion of main investing bodies in China is imbalanced. The proportion of basic research funds from enterprises in Korea is as high as 55%, followed by Japan, which is as high as 43%. In China, the proportion is less than 2%. There is application-oriented imbalance in basic research. This paper analyses the policies and effects of the United States in promoting basic research investment, and puts forward policy suggestions for optimizing China’s basic research investment.