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NASA\u2019s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy invites you to join us at the \u201cMacroeconomics of Space Symposium\u201d<\/strong> happening on Thursday, September 5, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT<\/strong> in the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters and virtually via WebEx.<\/p>\n OTPS is bringing together civil servants and leading researchers on the economic impacts of public R&D spending, to discuss the macroeconomics of space investments.\u00a0This symposium will will feature academic presentations, a panel discussion, highlights from the upcoming FY23 NASA Economic Impact Report, and a keynote speech from Heather Boushey of the President\u2019s Council of Economic Advisers\u2014the first ever CEA appearance at NASA!\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ll explore multiple perspectives, from annual economic impacts to decades-long effects on aggregate productivity, to offer a new level of integrated insight into the macroeconomic impacts of NASA investments. For more information, a preview at our agenda, and to RSVP, see details below. We hope to see you there!<\/p>\n Register to attend in-person or virtually through WebEx: <\/p>\n The macroeconomic implications of space-related government spending have long been a topic of interest within NASA and the Federal government more broadly. While NASA programs often focus on scientific and exploration goals, questions of NASA\u2019s economic impacts and benefits to American society at large are frequent topics of interest from members of Congress and the general public. Toward this end, NASA publishes a biannual Economic Impact Report to assess economic benefits of NASA spending across the country. While this is of substantial interest to the US space community \u2013 as evidenced by media attention the previous report received \u2013 there remain open questions about long-run impacts through channels like NASA-developed technologies proliferating through the economy, NASA-funded methods of production enhancing output over time, and NASA-incentivized activities spurring further private investments in productive activity.<\/p>\n A recent wave of economic research provides new evidence on these long-run impacts. Their magnitude creates macroeconomic implications for national space policy. By some estimates, non-defense R&D spending \u2013 the bulk of which has historically been NASA spending \u2013 accounts for about one quarter of business productivity growth in the postwar period, with long-run social returns \u2013 the cumulative benefit to American society per dollar spent \u2013 of about 200%. For comparison, the social rate of return on overall US R&D investment is about 67%. As Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently noted: \u201c\u2026 there is ample evidence [government research and development] is undersupplied, including due to a significant decline in federal R&D spending.\u201d Paired with the evidence from the Economic Impact Report regarding annual employment effects generated by NASA spending around the country, these results suggest NASA offers a unique mechanism to promote American economic resilience, opportunity, and growth.<\/p>\n This symposium convenes leading researchers on the economic impacts of public R&D spending and civil servants to discuss the macroeconomics of space investments. It bridges multiple perspectives, from annual employment impacts to decades-long effects on aggregate productivity, to offer an unprecedented level of comprehensive insight into the macroeconomic impacts of NASA investments.<\/p>\n\n
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Measuring the causal impact of government R&D on business-sector productivity, using postwar changes in federal R&D appropriations to estimate long-term economic returns to non-defense R&D.<\/li>\n
Quantifying the impact of declining public R&D funding on U.S. productivity growth using 70 years of firm-level patent and balance-sheet data to compare public and private R&D spillovers.<\/li>\n
Examining the Space Race to assess the impacts of windfall R&D spending on manufacturing and regional economies using declassified National Intelligence Estimates of technologies needed for space missions, detailed Census data, and data on patent funding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n