BRITAIN鈥檚 spending on research and development continues to lag behind
that of its major trading partners, according to figures released by the Office
of National Statistics last week.
As a proportion of GDP, Britain spends less on R&D than Japan, the US,
France and Germany. The main reason for this difference is the attitude of the
private sector to research. Private companies spend more on R&D in these
four countries than in Britain.
The British government鈥檚 spending on R&D continues to be dominated by
defence. Nearly 40 per cent goes on defence鈥攁 figure that is more than
four times as high as in Germany, Italy and Japan. Only the US government spends
more on defence R&D, which accounts for more than 55 per cent of its R&D
spending.
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Britain鈥檚 spending also shows the comparative neglect of basic research. In
Germany, Italy and Japan roughly half of government R&D spending goes on the
鈥渁dvancement of knowledge鈥�, as distinct from research programmes aimed at
boosting agricultural or industrial production. In France, nearly a third of
R&D spending goes on the advancement of knowledge. In Britain, the
proportion is only a quarter.