[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-324752-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-324752-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","can-rd-be-the-rxfor-the-midwest","Can R&D be the Rxfor the Midwest?","","Vital to long-run regional growth is manufacturing’s capacity to improve product quality and introduce more technologically advanced offerings. This Economic Commentary examines whether the Midwest’s research and development (R&D) shortfalls matter for the link between firms’ R&D spending and sales. It compares R&D funding levels and sources across regions, analyzes lab operations and perceived barriers using a private-lab survey, and evaluates differences in R&D effectiveness by relating R&D expenditures to sales outcomes.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/can-rd-be-the-rxfor-the-midwest/324752/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/can-rd-be-the-rxfor-the-midwest/324752.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Riley","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why is R&D crucial for long-run economic growth in a region?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"R&D provides the foundation for technological innovations and new product development, enabling improvements in product quality and the introduction of more advanced offerings without necessarily lowering wages.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How do Midwest firms’ R&D expenditures compare with East and West Coast firms?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Midwest firms spend less per employee on R&D than firms on the East and West coasts, where coastal regions invest far more, with West Coast figures especially higher in the period discussed.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What role does federal funding play in regional R&D disparities?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Federal funding is a major source of national R&D support and heavily influences private-industry research. Uneven allocation of federal R&D funds, including strong emphasis on defense-related areas, contributes to regional differences in spending.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},324752,1790462315,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":97,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},1374391975076,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/14000253ca4ec9f6853?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1783305029341752051","# Can R&D be the Rxfor the Midwest?\n\nby Julia Melkers and  \nRandall Eberts  \nM  \na significant rebound in recent years.Lower production costs,and particularlylower labor costs,have been an essen-tial ingredient of the restoration of com-petitiveness by Mdwest firms.  \nNevertheless,the success of the 1980sis no guarantee that the region willbeable to maintain a long-term competi-tive position.Long-run revival alsowould appear to require the ability toinnovate,either through quality im-provements or through the introductionof new,more technologically advancedproducts.  \nThe reasoning is simple.A region thatincreases its comparative advantage bycutting wages also reduces its standardof living.Lower wages mean reducedpurchasing power of workers and,con-sequently,lower income for regions,which in tum stifles economic develop-ment.On the other hand,a region thatcan gain a competitive edge throughproducing superior products can do sowithout lowering wages and sacrificingits standard of living.  \nKey to developing superior productsis research and development(R&D).The question is whether the Midwesthas the R&D facilities and funding tofoster technological advances that canbe transformed into commercial suc-cesses.Is this region at a disadvantage  \nin its R&D resources compared withother regions of the country,primarilythe East and West coasts with theirfamed Route 128 and Silicon Valleycomplexes?  \nThis Economic Commentary exploresthis issue by assessing three aspects ofthe Midwest's R&D capabilities.First,we consider differences in the level andsource of funding among industrialR&D labs in the Midwest comparedwith those on the East and West coasts.Second,using a recently completed sur-vey of private R&D labs,we considerthe intermal operation of labs and theperceived barriers that stand betweenthem and their primary research focus.Third,to examine regional differencesin the effectiveness of R&Defforts,werelate a firm's R&Dexpenditures to itssales.  \n■ Technology and Economic  \nResearch and development provides theseed for technological innovations andnew product development.The Commit-tee for Economic Development viewstechnological change as the primarysource of economic growth in the Unit-ed States.Expenditures on private re-search and development vary consider-ably across regionsFor example,firmsheadquartered in the Midwest spent anaverage of $4,088 per employee onR&Din 1988(see table 1).Although  \nJanuary 15,1990  \nVital to a region'slong-run economicgrowth is the ability of its manufactur-ing sector to improve product qualityand to introduce more technologicallyadvanced products.For the Midwest,research and development spendinghas beenlow compared with spendingby firms on the East and West coasts.The authors examine whether thisshortfall has been significant in therelationship between Midwest firms'R&D expenditures and their sales.  \nMidwest firms have increased R&Dex-penditures by 21 percent between 1987and 1988,the amount spent peremployee stil falls below the amountsspent by firms headquartered on theEast and West coasts.West Coast firmsspent $11,363 per employee in 1988,while East Coast firms spent consider-ably less,S6,010,but still almost halfagain as much as Midwest firms.  \nSome of this regional variation in R&Dexpenditures results from the geograph-ical distribution of industries.The Eastand West coasts have large concentra-tions of electronics and pharmaceuticalindustries,both of which typicallyspend a larger-than-average amount peremployee on R&D.Midwest firms,onthe other hand,concentrate more on  \nthe manufacture of automotive prod-ucts,consumer products,food,and gen-era manufacturing.These industriesspend only one-third the amount peremployee on R&D that the electronicsand pharmaceutical industries spend.  \nComparing R&Dexpenditures withinvarious industries does not improve thepicture for Midwest firms,however.Firms on the East and West coasts out-spent Midwest firms in 14 of the 19in-dustries considered.Midwest firmse","cbCaifYK9cLduIUa","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifYK9cLduIUa","pdf",1141204,"English","# Technology and Economic\n## Research and development and regional growth\n## Regional differences in R&D expenditures\n## Federal funding and its allocation\n## R&D effectiveness linked to sales","[{\"question\":\"Why is R\\u0026D crucial for long-run economic growth in a region?\",\"answer\":\"R\\u0026D provides the foundation for technological innovations and new product development, enabling improvements in product quality and the introduction of more advanced offerings without necessarily lowering wages.\"},{\"question\":\"How do Midwest firms’ R\\u0026D expenditures compare with East and West Coast firms?\",\"answer\":\"Midwest firms spend less per employee on R\\u0026D than firms on the East and West coasts, where coastal regions invest far more, with West Coast figures especially higher in the period discussed.\"},{\"question\":\"What role does federal funding play in regional R\\u0026D disparities?\",\"answer\":\"Federal funding is a major source of national R\\u0026D support and heavily influences private-industry research. Uneven allocation of federal R\\u0026D funds, including strong emphasis on defense-related areas, contributes to regional differences in spending.\"}]","Can R&D be the Rxfor the Midwest? | PDF",1789968775,13]