Abstract
This policy forum looks at patterns of investment in R&D among the world9s top scientific nations, which account for over 80% of the world9s total investment in R&D. Overall, their R&D investment is going up, with nongovernment investments rising faster than government investment. The policy forum discusses variations among the countries in their investment in basic research and in its productivity in terms of scientific papers; in the ratio of their private- to public-sector R&D; and in their capacity to exploit basic research advances, as measured, for example, by business R&D intensity and ownership of U.S. or EU patents.