During the past decade, foreign participation in U.S. research and developmentâ€"through acquisition of R&D-intensive businesses, links with universities, and other arrangementsâ€"has expanded rapidly. This emergence of foreign influence has drawn a mixed responseâ€"some regard the trend as a positive corollary to the expanding involvement of U.S.-owned companies in national markets abroad. Others consider it a net liability for Americans that often benefits foreign companies and their home economies at U.S. expense. There exists a large gap in expert and public understanding of the drivers, nature, and consequences of foreign participation in the nation's technology enterprise. This volume seeks to close this gap and reviews: The nature of R&D activities and how they contribute to economic development. The causes, scope, and nature of foreign involvement in U.S.-based R&D activity and the associated costs, risks, benefits, and opportunities of this trend. The merits and liabilities of policies to regulate foreign R&D participation.

During the past decade, foreign participation in U.S. research and development--through acquisition of R&D-intensive businesses, links with universities, and other arrangements--has expanded rapidly. This emergence of foreign influence has drawn a mixed response--some regard the trend as a positive corollary to the expanding involvement of U.S.-owned companies in national markets abroad. Others consider it a net liability for Americans that often benefits foreign companies and their home economies at U.S. expense. There exists a large gap in expert and public understanding of the drivers, nature, and consequences of foreign participation in the nation's technology enterprise. This volume seeks to close this gap and reviews The nature of R&D activities and how they contribute to economic development. The causes, scope, and nature of foreign involvement in U.S.-based R&D activity and the associated costs, risks, benefits, and opportunities of this trend. The merits and liabilities of policies to regulate foreign R&D participation.

For the past three-quarters of a century, the United States has led the world in technological innovation and development. The nation now risks falling behind its competitors, principally China. The United States needs to advance a national innovation strategy to ensure it remains the predominant power in a range of emerging technologies. Innovation and National Security: Keeping Our Edge outlines a strategy based on four pillars: restoring federal funding for research and development, attracting and educating a science and technology workforce, supporting technology adoption in the defense sector, and bolstering and scaling technology alliances and ecosystems. Failure could lead to a future in which rivals strengthen their militaries and threaten U.S. security interests, and new innovation centers replace the United States as the source of original ideas and inspiration for the world.

The number of immigrants in the US science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and among recipients of advanced STEM degrees at US universities has increased in recent decades. In light of the current public debate about immigration, there is a need for evidence on the economic impacts of immigrants on the STEM workforce and on innovation. Using new data and state-of-the-art empirical methods, this volume examines various aspects of the relationships between immigration, innovation, and entrepreneurship, including the effects of changes in the number of immigrants and their skill composition on the rate of innovation; the relationship between high-skilled immigration and entrepreneurship; and the differences between immigrant and native entrepreneurs. It presents new evidence on the postgraduation migration patterns of STEM doctoral recipients, in particular the likelihood these graduates will return to their home country. This volume also examines the role of the US higher education system and of US visa policy in attracting foreign students for graduate study and retaining them after graduation.