Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth

Shawn Kantor and Alexander Whalley

No 31471, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

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 related sectors. 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 only modest economic effects for both the local and national space-related sectors.

JEL-codes: H54 N12 N72 O32 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gro, nep-his, nep-tid and nep-ure
Note: DAE PR
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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