Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth

The Institute of Economics will hold a seminar meeting as part of its Seminar Series on Tuesday, May 9, 2023: Alexander Whalley from University of Calgary will present the paper "Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth".

Abstract:

We estimate the long-term effect of public R&D on growth in manufacturing by analyzing new data from the Cold War era Space Race. We develop a novel empirical strategy that leverages US-Soviet rivalry in space technology to isolate windfall R&D spending. Our results demonstrate that public R&D conducted by NASA contractors increased manufacturing value added, employment, and capital accumulation in space sectors. We find less evidence for increases in measured productivity, however. While migration responses were important, they were not sufficient to generate a wedge between local and national effects. The iconic Moonshot R&D program had meaningful economic effects for the space sector in both local and national economies.

The Seminar will be held in blended mode. In person partecipation is possible in Aula 3. For online partecipation please use the following link.