useful stats
Useful Stats: An international comparison of R&D expenditures
Most countries have dramatically increased their investments in R&D over the past two decades, with OECD nation spending reaching a record high nearly $1,600 of gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) per person in 2023 (PPP[1] converted), approximately triple the value recorded in 2000. Although the U.S.
New SSBCI report reveals jurisdiction fund deployments
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently released a report on the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program with data through December 31, 2024. As of the end of 2024, Treasury has disbursed nearly $4 billion of the $10 billion set aside for the program in the 2021 American Rescue Plan of Act.
Useful Stats: Industry contributions to county-level GDP
Exploring gross domestic product (GDP) at the county level offers a more detailed look at where industries are located and how they shape local economies, especially in smaller or more rural counties often overlooked at higher geographic levels.
Useful Stats: Industry breakdown of metropolitan and micropolitan area GDPs
In a country marked by regional diversity, gaining insights into economic performance often means looking beyond conventional state and county boundaries to economic hubs. This edition of Useful Stats uses Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data to first compare U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan GDPs broken down by industry for the last 20+ years, then consider each Metropolitan Statistical Area’s GDP by private industry, highlighting patterns and changes over the past decades.
Characterizing state economies: sectoral shares of GDP
Overall U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) has steadily increased over the past decade. However, the growth in the sectors which drive it has been uneven. Data from 2014 through 2023 reveals that sectoral contributions to private industry GDP have shifted from manufacturing (down 1.57 percentage points since 2014) and mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (down 1.05), to professional and business services (up 0.85) and construction (up 0.72).
Useful Stats: Higher education R&D steadily increased in the last decade, but not all fields shared the wealth
Higher education R&D (HERD) expenditures have steadily increased over time. They’ve soared past $100 billion in the most recent data year, fiscal year (FY) 2023, growing in every state. However, the gains are not shared equally in all fields of research.
Higher education R&D (HERD) expenditures have steadily increased over time. They’ve soared past $100 billion in the most recent data year, fiscal year (FY) 2023, growing in every state. However, the gains are not shared equally in all fields of research.
SSTI analyzed HERD Survey data, finding that in the 10 FYs since 2013, science R&D fields, led by the life sciences, were responsible for the largest dollar growths. In contrast, non-S&E fields, led by education, experienced the largest relative growth. SSTI has examined these shifts over the past decade at the national level and broken down expenditures by R&D field at the state and institutional level for FY 2023. This edition of Useful Stats provides the resulting comprehensive picture of HERD expenditures by R&D field.
Useful Stats: Two looks at state-level higher-ed R&D intensity
Readers may have noticed the most populous states end up topping many of the statistical tables related to economic development. Normalizing the data by some relevant, related measure can provide a higher quality look that is a little closer to the “apples to apples” appeal that might help influence some policy issues. For this week’s edition of Useful Stats, SSTI is exploring research intensity as a component of state gross domestic product (GDP) and the research load “carried” by each member of the R&D personnel within the state’s higher education community.
Useful Stats: A quarter-century look reveals relatively flat NIH R&D awards
SSTI’s new analysis of NIH data reveals the agency’s external R&D spending per award has been essentially treading water for the past 25 years in terms of real dollars—rising just 4% since FY 2000 when adjusted for inflation. This slow growth comes despite the crucial role NIH funding plays in technology-based economic development (TBED) policies across many states, particularly in the biomedical and life sciences.
Useful Stats: The state of US venture capital in 2024
Fewer of the youngest and later stage innovation-driven companies are receiving private venture capital at a time when the country needs more of both to retain our global economic leadership, according to data released in the latest report from PitchBook and NVCA. Across 2024, United States VC has seen an increase in overall deal value (+$47 billion) despite a decrease in deal count (-936) since the prior year, reveals the Q4 2024 Venture Monitor report.