Research and Development: U.S. Trends and International Comparisons

Research and Experimental Development (R&D) refers to creative and systematic work aimed at increasing the stock of knowledge and is broken down into three categories: basic research, applied research, and experimental development. This report analyzes R&D trends in the United States and internationally. R&D and other intangibles are intellectual property products such as software investments, contribute to innovation, output and productivity growth, competitiveness, and public policy goals across countries- from defense, cybersecurity, and information infrastructure to sustainable energy, environment protection, and health.