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Toward an assessment of the US Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Institutes of Health

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  • Albert N Link
  • John T Scott

Abstract

The Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, which established the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, is arguably the hallmark policy initiative in USA to support technology development and commercialization in small firms. While scholars have studied this program in detail, there has yet to be a systematic assessment of how well it is meeting its legislated goals of stimulating technological innovation and increasing private sector commercialization. We use a unique set of data on projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) SBIR program to assess the extent to which these program goals are being met. We find that, relative to a counterfactual control group, NIH can be characterized as supporting, on average, the development of high commercialization risk technologies, and we suggest that this finding aligns with the goals of the SBIR program and may in fact be for the common weal.

Suggested Citation

  • Albert N Link & John T Scott, 2018. "Toward an assessment of the US Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Institutes of Health," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 45(1), pages 83-91.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:scippl:v:45:y:2018:i:1:p:83-91.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/scipol/scx049
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gicheva, Dora & Link, Albert N., 2016. "On the economic performance of nascent entrepreneurs," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 109-117.
    2. Link, Albert N & Long, James E, 1981. "The Simple Economics of Basic Scientific Research: A Test of Nelson's Diversification Hypothesis," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 105-109, September.
    3. Lerner, Josh, 1999. "The Government as Venture Capitalist: The Long-Run Impact of the SBIR Program," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(3), pages 285-318, July.
    4. Stuart D. Allen & Stephen K. Layson & Albert N. Link, 2013. "Public gains from entrepreneurial research: Inferences about the economic value of public support of the Small Business Innovation Research program," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 6, pages 105-112, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. David B. Audretsch & Albert N. Link, 2019. "The fountain of knowledge: an epistemological perspective on the growth of U.S. SBIR-funded firms," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1103-1113, December.
    2. Albert N. Link & Martijn Hasselt & Silvio Vismara, 2021. "Going public with public money," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1419-1426, October.
    3. Sergio Salles-Filho & Bruno Fischer & Yohanna Juk & Paulo Feitosa & Fernando A. B. Colugnati, 2023. "Acknowledging diversity in knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship: assessing the Brazilian small business innovation research," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1446-1465, August.
    4. Robert S. Danziger & John T. Scott, 2021. "Government royalties on sales of biomedical products developed with substantial public funding," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 1321-1343, October.

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