The Impact of the Strategic Defense Initiative on US Civilian R&D Investment and Industrial Competitiveness

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Abstract
At a time when US industrial competitiveness was at its lowest point in the modern era, the Reagan Administration requested unprecedented sums for research and development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). If funded at the levels requested, SDI would further weaken the US competitive position by substantially reducing the amount of civilian R&D investment. Past military R&D has made a negligible contribution to US economic performance, and the exotic nature of SDI technology suggests that its contribution will be even smaller. Given the current state of the US economy, the consequences of a policy which greatly undermines US competitiveness are likely to be much more serious now than they would have been in the past.

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