Employment Growth from Public Support of Innovation in Small Firms

Albert N. Link and John T. Scott provide a statistical assessment of the employment growth associated with public support of R & D in small, entrepreneurial firms through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. While on the surface the SBIR program is generally intended to stimulate innovation leading to commercialization, and this is how government and scholars have historically judged the program, Link and Scott see it from a different perspective. To them it is a chance to examine the extent to which long-term job creation results from public support of R & D.