Does Britain have a problem with R&D spending?
Quality matters as much as quantity
For more expert analysis of the biggest stories in Britain, sign up to Blighty, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.
Britain boasts top-tier researchers in world-class universities. In 2020 only America and China had a bigger share of scientific citations. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 place three British universities in the top ten. And yet in the debate over Britain’s long-running productivity problem, research and development (R&D) is often pointed to as a culprit. What is going on?
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Here’s an idea"
Britain December 3rd 2022
- Britain’s social-care sector is in even worse shape than its health service
- Christianity is a minority religion in England and Wales
- The Conservative Party’s addiction to brawling
- Does Britain have a problem with R&D spending?
- The Elizabethan era is not yet at an end
- Britain gets serious about sealing up its draughty homes
- Emigration is in the air for Britons
From the December 3rd 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Why so many Britons have taken to stand-up paddleboarding
It combines fitness, wellness and smugness
Why Britain’s membership of the ECHR has become a political issue
And why leaving would be a mistake
The ECtHR’s Swiss climate ruling: overreach or appropriate?
A ruling on behalf of pensioners does not mean the court has gone rogue