1 U.S.A.’s National Innovation System

The United States of America has been heralded as the world’s premier engine of technological advance. However, recent criticisms suggest that its technological advance may slow, causing economic decline relative to other nations. An examination of the U.S. institutions supporting research and development (R&D) and innovation, and how those institutions have changed over time, shows that the U.S. national innovation system is robust but that failures to invest in science and technology, education, and technologies that keep the U.S. industrial base competitive, create major challenges for the future if the U.S. is to remain a leading nation in creation of technologies and in the global economy. Specific sections address R&D incentives, government support, mix of entrepreneurial and large-firm capitalism, breadth of U.S. technology, R&D-performing and-supporting institutions, the history of U.S. innovation policy, state programs, recent policy initiatives, future innovation concerns, culture, education, immigration, and patent and copyright law. The on-line (rather than print) edition contains figures and tables with data on development, applied, and basic research trends; federal R&D by agency; R&D expenditure trends by performers and funding sources; industry-specific R&D performance; state-specific R&D; patenting trends by sector; article output; imports and exports; and venture capital. Keywords