Impact evaluation of Japanese public investment to overcome market failure review of the top 50 NEDO Inside Products

A NEDO Inside Product is a product and/or process created by applying the results of a project developed through Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). These are unique innovative products and processes that have become essential to use in our daily lives and industry, with core technologies essential to their development realized as a result of NEDO projects. To determine whether a product/process qualifies as a NEDO Inside Product, a selection committee conducts a sales analysis and evaluation of its impact, taking into account past sales revenues, recent sales revenues, and sales forecasts. Anticipated gross social benefits, such as employment, CO 2 reduction, as well as the potential for causing 'ripple effects' to other technologies/industries, also are considered. This information is gathered through questionnaire-type surveys and interviews with those participating in the NEDO project, as well as a review of press reports, journal articles, and other publications, such as industry annual reports. Of all the candidates considered, the 50 products with the highest sales revenues and greatest potential for gross social benefit are chosen as NEDO Inside Products. The most recent annual sales revenues of the 50 NEDO Inside Products totaled $39.8 billion; sales forecasts from 2011 through 2020 are estimated at $660 billion. From 2010 through 2020, these products are expected to create 107,000--177,000 jobs and reduce CO 2 by ∼40 million tons per year, assuming that conventional products are replaced with NEDO Inside Products. For 30 years, solar power research and development has been the focus of a number of NEDO projects. The continuation of these projects, the scope of which ranges from fundamental research and development to practical application and demonstration testing, has contributed to society in many ways. Solar power is now a lucrative industry that generates enormous sales, and some of the technologies and discoveries resulting from these projects are now being used in a variety of other applications. Micro-electro-mechanical systems technology, also developed through an NEDO project after >30 years of research, is now being used in the production of functional parts and a variety of products. Copyright The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.