The first three elements of the TEM

For the 20-year period after globalization of the technology-based economy appeared in earnest (1980-2000), the U.S. (and all industrialized economies) underinvested in the four major asset categories. U.S. technology investment was largely focused on public goods (national defense, space exploration, and, somewhat later, biopharmaceutical research). Most commercialization efforts were spinoffs from mission-oriented government R&D funding. Today, however, exploding global technology-based investment in a continually widening range of products and services has greatly increased the imperative to develop and deploy more comprehensive and integrated technology development and utilization policy infrastructures. The generic model summarizing the roles and interactions of the modern technology-driven economy and hence the leverage points for technology-driven growth policies is captured in the TEM.