Germany has emerged from the great recession as one of the world’s strongest economies,in large part because of successful government–industry targeting of applied research. In the US, such combinations are generally seen as undesirable interference in free markets or as picking winners and losers. The contrasting models were discussed at a Washington, DC, panel sponsored by the German embassy and the DC-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) on 18 October.
“Germany has figured out something over the last decade about how to succeed in a worldwide economy that we haven’t [done],” said ITIF president Robert Atkinson. “The simple message [to US policymakers] is [to] support applied research cooperation between industry and government.”
Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown at an annualized average quarterly rate of 3.6% from January 2010 through June 2011, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). That compares with average quarterly growth...
