Economics (McConnell), 18th Edition

THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION R&D STATISTICS—WHAT’S HAPPENING? Go to the Division of Science Resource Statistics Web site, www.nsf.gov/statistics/natlpatterns, to find National Patterns of R&D. Select the most recent update year. Then select Full Publication. Use the historical data tables to determine whether the following R&D numbers increased, remained constant, or decreased over the last 5 years listed: ( a ) Total U.S. R&D expenditures in constant dollars, ( b ) Federal support for R&D in constant dollars, ( c ) R&D as a percentage of U.S. GDP, and ( d ) Federal support of R&D as a percentage of GDP. What are the technological implications of these figures for the United States?

NASA—ARE THERE COMMERCIAL SPIN-OFFS? Visit the Web site of NASA’s Technology Transfer Office, at www.sti.nasa.gov/tto, to identify significant commercial benefits from secondary use of NASA technology. Search the database to find and describe five such spin-offs. How does the NASA Commercial Technology Network, nctn.hq.nasa.gov, move technology from the lab to the marketplace?