Public goods, public gains : calculating the social benefits of public R & D

In Public Goods, Public Gains, Link and Scott discuss the systematic application of alternative evaluation methods to estimate the social benefits of publicly financed research and development (R&D). The authors argue that economic theory should be the guiding criterion for any method of program evaluation because it focuses attention on the value and the opportunity costs of the program. The evaluation methods discussed and illustrated are both economics and, for comparison, non-economics based. The book is motivated by four foundation chapters that discuss government's role in innovation from the perspective of economic theory, review public accountability issues from both a constitutional and an historical perspective, overview systematic approaches to program evaluation, and describe the evaluation metrics typically used. Four case studies illustrate the four alternative evaluation approaches discussed. These case studies are for the U.S. Advanced Technology Program's intramural research awards program, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's research on wavelength references for optical fiber communications, the U.S. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and the Advanced Technology Program's focused program on the integration of manufacturing applications. In Public Goods, Public Gains, Link and Scott discuss the systematic application of alternative evaluation methods to estimate the social benefits of publicly-financed research and development (R & D). The authors argue that economic theory should be the guiding criterion for any method of program evaluation because it focuses attention on the value and the opportunity costs of the program. The evaluation methods discussed and illustrated are both economics and, for comparison, non-economics based. The book is motivated by four foundation chapters that discuss government's role in innovation from the perspective of economic theory, review public accountability issues from both a constitutional and an historical perspective, overview systematic approaches to program evaluation, and describe the evaluation metrics typically used. Four case studies illustrate the four alternative evaluation approached discussed. These case studies are for the U.S. Advanced Technology Program's intramural research awards program, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's research on wavelength references for optical fiber communications, the U.S. Malcolm Balridge National Quality Award, and the Advanced Technology Program's focused program on the integration of manufacturing applications Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 About the Authors......Page 12 1. Introduction......Page 14 2. Government’s Role in Innovation......Page 17 3. Historical Perspectives on Public Accountability......Page 33 4. Systematic Approaches to Program Evaluation and Evaluation Metrics......Page 40 5. Introduction to the Case Studies......Page 52 6. The Advanced Technology Program’s Intramural Research Awards Program......Page 66 7. Wavelength References for Optical Fiber Communications......Page 97 8. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award......Page 109 9. Technologies for the Integration of Manufacturing Applications......Page 129 10. Concluding Statement......Page 152 References......Page 160 A......Page 166 C......Page 167 G......Page 168 L......Page 169 N......Page 170 P......Page 171 S......Page 172 W......Page 173 This book is motivated by four foundation chapters that discuss government's role in innovation from the perspective of economic theory, review public accountability issues from both a constitutional and a historical perspective, overview systematic approaches to program evaluation, and describe the evaluation metrics typically used. Four case studies illustrate the four alternative evaluation approaches discussed. These case studies are for the U.S. Advanced Technology Program's intramural research awards program, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's research on wavelength references for optical fiber communications, the U.S. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and the Advanced Technology Program's focused program on the integration of manufacturing applications. --Book Jacket Introduction Government's role in innovation Historical perspectives on public accountability Systematic approaches to program evaluation and evaluation metric Introduction to the case studies The advanced technology program's intramural research awards program Wavelength references for optical fiber communications The Malcolm Balridge National Quality Award Technologies for the integration of manufacturing applications Conclusions. In 'Public Goods, Public Gains', the authors discuss and apply in case studies the systematic application of alternative evaluation methods to estimate the social benefits of publicly-financed research and development (R & D)