How many people in the world do research and development?

Area of Science:

• Economics of Innovation
• Science and Technology Policy
• Human Capital Development

Background:

• Traditional R&D capacity metrics rely on Gross Domestic R&D expenditures (GERD).
• There is a need to expand R&D capacity assessment to include human capital.
• Research human capital density (RHCD) is proposed as an alternative metric.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and define researcher human capital density (RHCD) as a measure of R&D capacity.
• To evaluate the utility of RHCD in models of innovation capacity.
• To assess the explanatory power of RHCD for research outputs such as patents and publications.

Main Methods:

• Developing a methodology to estimate counts of researchers and calculate RHCD within countries.
• Incorporating RHCD into models of innovation capacity.
• Analyzing the relationship between RHCD and research outputs (patents, publications).

Main Results:

• RHCD demonstrates greater explanatory power than GERD in predicting the production of patents and publications.
• RHCD is a useful variable in models of innovation capacity.
• Surveys of individuals on R&D activities are valuable for assessing innovation capacity.

Conclusions:

• RHCD offers a more comprehensive measure of R&D capacity than GERD.
• RHCD has significant explanatory power for research outputs and innovation.
• Broader adoption of R&D activity surveys can support strategic human capital development for innovation.