International Comparisons of R&D Expenditure: Does an R&D PPP Make a Difference?

Sean M. Dougherty (), Robert Inklaar (), Robert H. McGuckin and Bart van Ark ()

No 12829, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Purchasing power parities (PPPs) for R&D expenditure in 19 manufacturing industries are developed for France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom relative to the United States for the years 1997 and 1987. These PPPs are based on R&D input prices for specific cost categories and differ substantially from current practice of comparing R&D expenditure using GDP PPPs and deflators. After taking into account differences in the relative price of R&D labor and materials, separate PPPs for other R&D cost categories are less essential, and a simpler version using GDP PPPs for these other categories should suffice. Our preferred PPPs are used to compare international R&D costs and intensity. The results suggest that the efforts devoted to R&D in each country are more similar across countries than is apparent using the nominal R&D intensities that are currently the norm.

JEL-codes: C43 L16 L60 O32 O47 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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Date: 2007-01
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Working Paper: International Comparisons of R&D Expenditure: Does an R&D PPP make a difference? (2006)
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