Science spending increases by 19pc in four years

NEW YORK: Global R&D spending grew faster than the economy between 2014 and 2018 as countries around the world turned to research to bring on the green and digital transitions, says a new UNESCO report. Worldwide, science spending increased by 19% over the four years, while the number of scientists grew by 13.7% to 8.8 million.

Since the start of 2020, the COVID-19 crisis further boosted this trend. The 762-page report covers 193 countries. “What struck me with this one is the alignment of development priorities with different income levels, whether they are industrialised or low-income countries,” Susan Schneegans, editor-in-chief of the report, told Science|Business. Countries around the globe are prioritising digital and green R&I investments to boost competitiveness and future preparedness.

However, the growth is for the most part, uneven. China and the US together account for 63% of the increase in spending, while the EU countries added a further 11%. Taken together, the G20 countries boast 88.8% of the world’s researchers, 93.2% of research spending and 90.6% of scientific publications.Private sector spending on science in most cases is relatively low, with the public sector accounting for the majority of investment. Incentivising companies and start-ups to do more research and development is one solution to boosting efforts. “But before a company can do R&D, it needs equipment,” Schneegans said.

As low and middle income companies strive to catch up, one way to spur private sector investment is R&D tax credits. As one notable example, Indonesia, introduced a 300% tax reduction on research expenditure in 2019. Alongside incentives, companies need capital and a solid regulatory environment.