R&D and Productivity Lag in Food Manufacturing

ERS researchers estimate that research and development (R&D) expenditures by the global food manufacturing industry reached $11.5 billion in 2007, with the US accounting for $3.1 billion of the total. However, research intensity (research spending relative to the value of production) in US food...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Amber waves 2012-06, Vol.10 (2), p.1M-1M
Main Authors: Day-Rubenstein, Kelly, Fuglie, Keith
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural commodities
Agriculture
Appropriations and expenditures
Economics
Food
Food industry
Food processing industry
Innovations
Manufacturing
Manufacturing industry
Natural resources
Product development
Productivity
R&D
Research & development
Research & development expenditures
Research and development
Research programs
Rural areas
United States
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ERS researchers estimate that research and development (R&D) expenditures by the global food manufacturing industry reached $11.5 billion in 2007, with the US accounting for $3.1 billion of the total. However, research intensity (research spending relative to the value of production) in US food manufacturing is relatively low, at about 1.5%, compared with 10% for total US manufacturing. Productivity growth in food manufacturing, based on total factor productivity (TFP), has been significantly less than that for total manufacturing and for agriculture. From 1980 to 2006, TFP growth in US food manufacturing was only about 8%, compared with 92% in total US manufacturing and 145% in US agriculture. This finding supports the idea that relatively little labor- and capital-saving innovation occurred in food manufacturing overall during the period.
ISSN:1545-8741
1545-875X