Since 1991, spending for R&D in the U.S. has been stagnating - not growing in real terms, but not dropping precipitously either. Last year was much the same, although there are some indications the downward slide may be picking up momentum. According to National Science Foundation (NSF) estimates, 1995 total expenditures reached $171 billion, up only 1% from 1994. When inflation is taken into account, that means spending actually dropped almost 2%.
Federal Government
Industry
Universities & Colleges
InternationalThat decline would have been much worse if it weren't for industry, the largest source of R&D funding in the U.S. The increase in funds from industry in 1995, up 2% to almost $102 billion, was not enough to beat inflation. However, it more than offset the 1% decline - down to $60.7 billion - in funding from the federal government.
Federal funds for R&D are sure to continue to decrease, with Congress seemingly committed to balancing the federal budget by 2002 and Republican presidential candidate Robert Dole having raised the issue of tax cuts. So industry will have to do even more if the R&D enterprise is to achieve any significant growth this year.
That might be happening. U.S. companies are more positive about their R&D spending plans for 1996 than they have been for some time, according to a forecast by the Industrial Research Institute (IRI), an industry association based in Washington, D.C. The 151 IRI member companies that responded to the institute's annual survey indicated that they expect to increase the share of sales spent on R&D to 3.6% in 1996, up significantly from the 3.2% that had been forecast in 1995.
In addition to providing the most money for R&D, industry also performs more R&D than any other U.S. sector - 71% of the total in 1995. Most of the effort goes toward development, with less spent on applied research and an even smaller proportion spent on basic research. Indeed, NSF reports that the amount of funds industry spent to perform basic research dropped an average annual rate of 4.6% between 1991 and 1995, in terms of constant dollars.
Most basic research is performed at universities, where industry has steadily been increasing its presence. Industrial funding of academic research increased an average of 11.7% per year over the past decade. The $1.4 billion that industry provided to universities in 1994 amounted to 7% of the $21.1 billion academic R&D total.
Viewed another way - as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) - U.S. R&D might have risen a bit last year. NSF estimates an increase from 2.49% of GDP in 1994 to 2.52% in 1995. Given the preliminary nature of the data, however, that tiny tick upward may well prove illusory.
a Preliminary data. Source: "National patterns of Research and Development Resources: 1995," National Science Foundation
In absolute terms, the U.S. far outspends other industrialized nations on R&D. And in the early 1980s, the U.S. ranked number one among nations in the share of the economy invested in R&D. However, in the late 1980s, first Germany and then Japan surpassed the U.S. in percent share. Since then, there has been a worldwide decline in R&D spending. Germany's percentage has slipped back below that of the U.S. Japan has continued to have the highest percentage of GDP spent on R&D - 2.69% in 1994, the latest year for which those figures are available. Its share also has been declining in recent years.
The international comparison looks different, however, when only nondefense R&D is considered. In that case, both Germany and Japan far exceed the U.S. - and have for years - in expenditures as a share of GDP.
Japan was the source of origin of 21% of the chemical patents issued by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in 1995. And although the absolute numbers of U.S. chemical patents originating in Japan was down, two other Asian nations, Taiwan and South Korea, showed striking growth in numbers of patents.
The number of patents issued to U.S. chemical companies declined significantly in 1995. The total for 16 major firms dropped from 1,938 in 1994 to 1,556 last year. In contrast, the total number of patents issued to nine drug companies increased from 782 in 1994 to 823 in 1995.
Those patent trends may well reflect the relative emphasis chemical and drug firms have been placing on R&D. The most recent data from NSF show that producers of industrial and other chemicals cut the amount of funds they spent on R&D back from $7.5 billion in 1993 to $6.9 billion in 1994. In the same period, drug companies continued to expand their R&D efforts, up 5% to $9.6 billion in 1994.
Chemical research in academia, meanwhile, continued to just hold its own. Spending in chemistry increased to $759 million in 1994 - the latest year for which data are available - only a 1% gain over the previous year once inflation is taken into account. Similarly, support for chemical engineering was up 3% to $276 million in 1994.
Note: Origin of patent is based on address of inventor whose name is first on patent application. Source U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
a Number of abstracts of papers published in Chemical Abstracts. Source: Chemical Abstracts Service
Harvard University was the school that spent the most on chemistry research in 1994, topping the list at an estimated $15.4 million. The University of Texas, Austin, dropped to second place as its chemistry R&D funds decreased 14% to $14.4 million. Three universities broke into the top 10 list: the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Colorado, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
In chemical engineering research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the top spender again in 1994, up 15% to $14.7 million. Also notable was New Mexico State University, where expenditures on chemical engineering research rose a whopping 45% to $5.3 million in 1994, placing the school among the top 10 for the first time.
| % annual change | |||||||||||||
| $ Billions, current | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994(a) | 1995(b) | 1994-95 | 1985-95 |
| Industry | $58.0 | $61.1 | $62.6 | $68.0 | $75.0 | $83.4 | $92.5 | $96.4 | $97.6 | $99.7 | $101.7 | 2.0% | 5.8% |
| Federal government | 52.1 | 54.3 | 57.9 | 59.5 | 59.9 | 61.5 | 60.2 | 60.3 | 60.2 | 61.1 | 60.7 | -0.7 | 1.5 |
| Universities & colleges | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 1.9 | 8.6 |
| Other nonprofit institutions | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 9.4 |
| TOTAL | $113.8 | $119.6 | $125.4 | $132.9 | $141.0 | $151.5 | $160.1 | $164.5 | $165.8 | $169.1 | $171.0 | 1.1% | 4.2% |
| $ Billions, constant (1985) | |||||||||||||
| Industry | $58.0 | $59.5 | $59.1 | $61.8 | $65.3 | $69.5 | $74.2 | $75.3 | $74.6 | $74.6 | $74.0 | -0.8% | 2.5% |
| Federal government | 52.2 | 52.8 | 54.7 | 54.2 | 52.2 | 51.5 | 48.5 | 47.3 | 46.1 | 45.8 | 44.4 | -3.1 | -2.0 |
| Universities & colleges | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 5.3 |
| Other nonprofit institutions | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 0 | 5.9 |
| TOTAL | $113.8 | $116.4 | $118.4 | $120.8 | $122.7 | $126.6 | $128.7 | $128.6 | $126.9 | $126.8 | $124.7 | -1.7% | 0.9% |
Note: Constant-dollar values calculated by C&EN from NSF data. Totals may not add because of rounding. a Preliminary. b Estimate.Source: "National Patterns of R&D Resources: 1995," National Science Foundation
| % annual change | |||||||||||||
| $ Billions, current | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994(a) | 1995(b) | 1994-95 | 1985-95 |
| Industry | $84.2 | $87.8 | $92.2 | $97.0 | $102.1 | $109.7 | $117.0 | $119.1 | $118.3 | $119.7 | $121.4 | 1.4% | 3.7% |
| Federal government | 12.9 | 13.5 | 13.4 | 14.3 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.2 | 15.7 | 16.6 | 17.2 | 16.7 | -2.9 | 2.6 |
| Universities & colleges | 9.7 | 10.9 | 12.2 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 16.3 | 17.6 | 18.8 | 19.9 | 21.0 | 21.6 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
| University-associated FFRDCs(c) | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 0 | 4.2 |
| Other nonprofit institutions | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 5.8 |
| TOTAL | $113.8 | $119.6 | $125.4 | $132.9 | $141.0 | $151.5 | $160.1 | $164.5 | $165.8 | $169.1 | $171.0 | 1.1% | |
| 4.2%$ Billions, constant (1985) | |||||||||||||
| Industry | $84.2 | $85.6 | $87.0 | $88.1 | $88.8 | $91.4 | $93.9 | $93.0 | $90.5 | $89.6 | $88.4 | -1.3% | 0.5% |
| Federal government | 13.0 | 13.2 | 12.7 | 13.0 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 12.3 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 12.2 | -5.0 | -0.6 |
| Universities & colleges | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.5 | 12.3 | 13.1 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 15.3 | 15.8 | 15.8 | 0 | 5.0 |
| University-associated FFRDCs(c) | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | -2.5 | 1.1 |
| Other nonprofit institutions | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | -2.2 | 3.2 |
| TOTAL | $113.8 | $116.4 | $118.4 | $120.8 | $122.7 | $126.6 | $128.7 | $128.6 | $126.9 | $126.8 | $124.7 | -1.7% | 0.9% |
Note: Constant-dollar values calculated by C&EN from NSF data. Totals may not add because of rounding. a Preliminary. b Estimate. c Federally funded R&D centers. Source: "National Patterns of R&D Resources: 1995," National Science Foundation
| 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | |
| BIOCHEMISTRY | 40.5% | 40.4% | 40.5% | 39.7% | 39.2% | 36.9% | 39.5% | 39.6% | 43.0% | 40.1% | 39.9% |
| % of all biochemistry abstracts | |||||||||||
| Mammalian hormones | 12.3 | 12.5 | 12.2 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 11.5 | 12.2 | 11.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 9.1 |
| Mammalian biochemistry | 11.1 | 10.8 | 11.1 | 10.8 | 10.7 | 10.5 | 12.0 | 12.3 | 13.4 | 13.2 | 13.4 |
| Pharmacology | 12.3 | 12.2 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 12.6 | 11.7 | 11.4 | 11.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 11.0 |
| Biochemical genetics | 5.2 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 10.1 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 11.0 |
| Toxicology | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 5.5 |
| Immunochemistry | 5.3 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 7.5 |
| Enzymes | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 5.0 | 5.8 |
| Biochemical methods | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 4.5 |
| Plant biochemistry | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.1 |
| Microbial biochemistry | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.3 |
| Food and feed chemistry | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
| Others | 20.0 | 19.1 | 18.9 | 18.7 | 18.1 | 17.7 | 17.8 | 17.9 | 18.0 | 17.8 | 18.4 |
| PHYSICAL, INORGANIC, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY | 29.8% | 29.8% | 29.0% | 28.8% | 29.0% | 30.3% | 28.4% | 27.7% | 25.3% | 27.6% | 27.2% |
| % of all physical, inorganic, and analytical chemistry abstracts | |||||||||||
| Spectra | 18.4 | 20.0 | 20.4 | 20.0 | 18.1 | 16.9 | 18.1 | 16.8 | 15.8 | 16.8 | 17.9 |
| Nuclear chemistry | 21.8 | 19.9 | 19.5 | 17.8 | 19.4 | 17.1 | 16.3 | 17.4 | 19.8 | 16.3 | 16.1 |
| Electric phenomena | 10.8 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 12.5 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 14.7 | 17.3 | 17.9 |
| General physical chemistry | 6.9 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 8.5 | 7.1 |
| Analytical chemistry | 6.1 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.9 |
| Crystallography and liquid crystals | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| Surface chemistry and colloids | 4.9 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.8 |
| Others | 23.6 | 23.8 | 23.3 | 24.0 | 23.1 | 23.9 | 23.4 | 23.7 | 22.9 | 22.3 | 22.1 |
| APPLIED CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING | 18.4% | 18.2% | 18.0% | 18.6% | 18.1% | 18.2% | 18.9% | 20.2% | 20.0% | 20.2% | 20.0% |
| % of all applied chemistry and chemical engineering abstracts | |||||||||||
| Metals and alloys | 20.0 | 20.8 | 20.6 | 21.7 | 22.1 | 24.5 | 21.2 | 22.0 | 22.8 | 22.5 | 21.4 |
| Water, wastes, and pollution | 20.2 | 21.9 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 17.8 | 18.8 | 22.2 | 21.7 | 20.1 | 20.3 | 23.9 |
| Ceramics | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 9.1 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 9.9 | 9.7 |
| Fossil fuels, derivatives, and related products | 10.1 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 8.8 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 7.2 |
| Unit operations and processes | 7.5 | 7.1 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 10.3 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 9.7 | 10.1 | 8.8 | 8.3 |
| Pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical analysis | 8.0 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.1 | 8.9 | 8.3 | 7.5 |
| Mineralogical and geological chemistry | 12.5 | 12.0 | 11.2 | 11.8 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 10.1 | 7.4 | 8.3 | 9.6 | 8.0 |
| Others | 16.1 | 15.2 | 15.1 | 15.0 | 14.9 | 14.1 | 12.7 | 13.9 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 14.0 |
| ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 6.4% | 5.9% | 6.9% | 7.3% | 7.8% | 8.7% | 7.6% | 6.6% | 5.7% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| % of all organic chemistry abstracts | |||||||||||
| Physical organic chemistry | 30.6 | 27.3 | 23.9 | 23.0 | 25.9 | 21.2 | 21.3 | 21.6 | 23.4 | 22.6 | 19.6 |
| Heterocyclic compounds | 16.1 | 15.0 | 19.9 | 18.8 | 16.1 | 17.4 | 19.0 | 18.0 | 16.0 | 18.2 | 17.3 |
| Organometallic and organometalloidal compounds | 16.2 | 18.3 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 18.4 | 20.4 | 16.6 | 17.0 | 19.0 | 17.2 | 17.1 |
| Carbohydrates | 5.7 | 7.8 | 5.6 | 8.1 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 9.3 |
| Amino acids, peptides, and proteins | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 6.1 | 8.4 |
| Aromatic compounds | 6.3 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 6.3 |
| Biomolecules and their synthetic analogs | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.7 |
| Others | 15.6 | 15.4 | 16.7 | 15.3 | 15.9 | 14.6 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 15.1 | 16.3 |
| MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY | 4.9% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 5.6% | 5.9% | 6.0% | 5.7% | 7.1% |
| % of all macromolecular chemistry abstracts | |||||||||||
| Synthetic high polymers | 34.1 | 34.1 | 35.2 | 34.8 | 34.4 | 38.6 | 39.5 | 35.8 | 35.2 | 37.7 | 32.3 |
| Plastics manufacture and uses | 25.3 | 23.8 | 23.6 | 23.7 | 25.1 | 23.3 | 25.8 | 27.6 | 29.6 | 31.4 | 33.8 |
| Textiles | 8.2 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 5.2 |
| Cellulose, lignin, paper, and other wood products | 9.1 | 9.8 | 8.8 | 9.6 | 9.2 | 7.6 | 6.3 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 7.0 |
| Industrial organic chemicals, leather, fats, and waxes | 4.4 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 6.1 |
| Synthetic elastomers and natural rubber | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| Coatings, inks, and related products | 7.2 | 7.2 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 5.7 |
| Others | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 5.1 |
How to read this table: Using biochemistry as an example, in 1995, 39.9% of all the papers abstracted by Chemical Abstracts Service are in the various subdisciplines of biochemistry; 9.1% of all abstracts in biochemistry, in turn, are in the subdiscipline of mammalian hormones, and so on. Source: Chemical Abstracts Service
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