Washington D.C. - The growth and intensity of higher education R&D (HERD) expenditures varies considerably across metropolitan areas, a recent SSTI analysis of National Science Foundation data finds. New York ($4.3 billion), Boston ($3.2 billion), and Baltimore ($2.9 billion) had the highest overall levels of HERD expenditures in 2016. In that same year, Ithaca, New York (19.1 percent), State College, Pennsylvania (9.5 percent), and College Station, Texas (9.4 percent) had the highest levels of HERD intensity – measured as the share of HERD expenditures to gross metropolitan product. While overall HERD expenditures increased by nearly $7.5 billion nationwide from 2011 to 2016, more than half of this total (50.6 percent) went to the 10 metro areas with the most HERD expenditures in 2016.
This analysis uses data from the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey. For the survey, each university responds with a five-digit ZIP code that can match with a corresponding metropolitan statistical area. At this unit of measurement, HERD data can also pair with the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s data on gross domestic product by metro (GMP), a proxy for the size of a region’s economy. SSTI then used the GMP data to categorize regions into four quartiles – extra-large, large, small, and very small – each containing 55 metropolitan areas.
In 2016, the regions with the highest levels of HERD expenditures in the extra-large quartile were New York ($4.3 billion), Boston ($3.2 billion), and Baltimore ($2.9 billion). Durham-Chapel Hill ($2.1 billion), Madison ($1.1 billion), and New Haven ($888.8 million) had the highest levels among the second quartile. Ann Arbor ($1.4 billion), Gainesville ($791.3 million), and Urbana-Champaign ($625.1 million) had the highest overall levels of HERD expenditures among the third quartile, while Ithaca ($781.7 million), College Station, Texas ($892.7 million), and State College, Pennsylvania ($825.6 million) led among the smallest regions.
An analysis of HERD intensity, as measured by the proportion of a region’s HERD to its GMP, finds considerable variation among metropolitan areas. Unsurprisingly, while overall HERD levels were much higher among the largest regions, HERD intensity was highest among smaller metropolitan areas. The figure below presents HERD intensity for the 10 most HERD-intensive metropolitan areas in each quartile. Data on the other metropolitan regions can be found in the excel file attached at the bottom of this document.
For details: https://ssti.org/blog/useful-stats-higher-education-rd-expenditures-distributed-unevenly-across-metro-areas-0?utm_source=SSTI+Weekly+Digest&utm_campaign=ce1c8972b7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ecf5992d4c-ce1c8972b7-220101229
In 2016, the regions with the highest levels of HERD expenditures in the extra-large quartile were New York ($4.3 billion), Boston ($3.2 billion), and Baltimore ($2.9 billion). Durham-Chapel Hill ($2.1 billion), Madison ($1.1 billion), and New Haven ($888.8 million) had the highest levels among the second quartile. Ann Arbor ($1.4 billion), Gainesville ($791.3 million), and Urbana-Champaign ($625.1 million) had the highest overall levels of HERD expenditures among the third quartile, while Ithaca ($781.7 million), College Station, Texas ($892.7 million), and State College, Pennsylvania ($825.6 million) led among the smallest regions.
An analysis of HERD intensity, as measured by the proportion of a region’s HERD to its GMP, finds considerable variation among metropolitan areas. Unsurprisingly, while overall HERD levels were much higher among the largest regions, HERD intensity was highest among smaller metropolitan areas. The figure below presents HERD intensity for the 10 most HERD-intensive metropolitan areas in each quartile. Data on the other metropolitan regions can be found in the excel file attached at the bottom of this document.
For details: https://ssti.org/blog/useful-stats-higher-education-rd-expenditures-distributed-unevenly-across-metro-areas-0?utm_source=SSTI+Weekly+Digest&utm_campaign=ce1c8972b7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ecf5992d4c-ce1c8972b7-220101229
