Posted by Heidi Schwartz
The United States’ long-term economic growth will be determined by its ability to encourage the research and development (R&D) that fosters innovation. Elsevier, a provider of information solutions, and The Council of State Governments (CSG), an organization serving all three branches of state government, has released America‘s Knowledge Economy: A State-by-State Review, a report that analyzes the research strengths of the United States, led by academic and private sector institutions known as knowledge economies.
By exploring the comparative research strengths of individual states, this report is designed to inform the debate about academic research funding as well as provide a framework for aligning states’ policy goals with the expertise of its research institutions. Using a variety of measures the report assesses where states have a comparative advantage in research and how they can drive innovation, attract jobs and foster economic growth.
Highlights from the report, which can be read here, include:
- Nearly 50 percent of the total U.S. research output was in the areas of medicine (28.7 percent) and engineering (17.4 percent).
- California has a national patent share more than three times the next closest state which is Texas. New York, Massachusetts and Washington round out the top five.
- New Jersey’s total publications from corporate research are the highest in the country.
- Minnesota, Rhode Island and North Carolina are the top three states for medical research.
- New Mexico, Idaho and Virginia are the top three states in engineering.
- Maryland, North Carolina and Nebraska lead in biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology.
“American competitiveness in the global marketplace starts with strong state economies,” said David Adkins, executive director/CEO, CSG. “This report provides hard data that state and local municipalities can use to demonstrate the return on investment of academic research as well as to attract potential sources of new economic development opportunities.”
“The report, in collaboration with CSG, uses Elsevier’s data and analytics systems to showcase the knowledge economy that flows from universities to the economic well-being and future of each state,” said Brad Fenwick, senior vice president for global strategic alliances at Elsevier. “Universities not only create new knowledge, but also produce the next generation of highly educated workers who can put these discoveries to work.”
