VII. Case Study: Investments in Science and Technology

In the group of industrialized nations known as the Group of 7, industries are responsible for 50-70% of S&T. Resources originate from both the industrial and government sectors, yet most of them are spent in the industrial sector. In the US, the government mainly sponsors basic R&D, while both industries and the government sponsor applied R&D. Universities are responsible for a large portion of this basic R&D, and industries finance approximately 7% of their needs (Organization of American States 1997 and National Science Board 2000). In Latin-America R&D is primarily sponsored by governments. Brazil, Cuba, Chile and Costa Rica are the only countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with greater than 1% investment of their GDP in R&D. It is interesting to observe the amount of expenditures in S&T as well as where the talent is found.