This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by STIGLITZ, J. E. Articles by WALLSTEN, S. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Public-Private Technology Partnerships

Promises and Pitfalls

Stanford University The World Bank

SCOTT J. WALLSTEN

Stanford University The World Bank

The U.S. government has a long history of supporting private sector research and development (R & D). The economic justification for government R & D support is clear. Primarily because of knowledge spillovers, profit-maximizing firms invest less than the socially optimal level of R & D. This market failure creates the possibility that government can help mitigate the underinvestment problem. Public-private technology partnerships are the newest approach to funding R & D. Technology partnerships include public funding of industry-led R & D projects and private research consortia, and collaborations between industry and government scientists. These programs hope to generate research that yields commercial products and innovations. This article discusses the rise of these programs, the theory supporting them, the types of research projects they must fund to be successful, the technical and political obstacles they face in funding these projects, and the evaluations of the largest partnership programs. This article concludes with policy recommendations, recognizing that these programs have potential but must overcome significant hurdles.

American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 43, No. 1, 52-73 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/00027649921955155


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. V. ROSENAU Introduction: The Strengths and Weaknesses of Public-Private Policy Partnerships American Behavioral Scientist, September 1, 1999; 43(1): 10 - 34. [Abstract] [PDF]