Economic Efficiency of Federal Provision of Scientific Information and Support for Science Research in Canada

Abstract

Federal provision of scientific information and support for science research have declined significantly in recent years, and a trend away from pure research toward applied and commercializable research has begun. This commentary asks whether those and other trends in this area can be justified in terms of economic efficiency. It is argued that the marginal benefits of scientific information and research have likely risen relative to production costs and the marginal cost of public funds has fallen, implying that reduced provision cannot be justified on efficiency grounds. An efficiency rationale for increased support for commercializable research is also lacking. Longer-term trends include the rise of open data, which does make sense, and a relative shift from intramural government research and development toward university-based R&D. The latter shift likely responds to underlying economic factors, but does not warrant a sudden sharp reduction in government research, such as seen recently in Canada.