Painting A Picture Of Global R&D

Like the subject matter itself, the practice of science around the world is evolving. International data show that global spending on research and development continues to grow, but the ranking of the top players has changed. Also, the ebb and flow of researchers moving around the world is shifting, most significantly because of the increasingly important role of science in Asia. Unchanged, however, is the fact that, regardless of geographic region, the majority of scientists and engineers in the world are male, with women accounting for little more than one-fourth of the employees in the research sector.

According to data released this year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO), global R&D spending in 2003 reached an estimated $850 billion as measured in purchasing-power parity dollars. Economists use purchasing-power parities to convert local currencies into a standardized equivalent in U.S. dollars in a way that accounts for the differences in purchasing power of different nations' currencies. In compiling its figures, UNESCO collects data from more than 200 countries and territories, and it also draws on data from other groups such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development.

Global spending on R&D has more than doubled since 1990, when the figure stood at $410 billion, reports Ernesto Fernèndez Polcuch, who is responsible for science and technology data at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Despite this massive growth, investment in the sector as a share of the overall world economy has remained remarkably steady over this time frame: As in 1990, R&D spending accounted for approximately 1.8% of global gross domestic product in 2003.

North America has maintained its position as the biggest spender, with its $311 billion outlay in 2003 accounting for more than one-third of global R&D spending. Asia has taken over second place in terms of investment in the sector, with an expenditure of $260 billion in 2003. The region has displaced Europe, which spent $240 billion on R&D.

"Fifteen years ago, Europe had significantly higher expenditure than Asia," Fernèndez Polcuch says. "Ten years ago, Europe and Asia were at a quite similar level. It's clear now that Asia has passed Europe and is consolidating its position.

"The changing role of Asia in world R&D is in big part due to China more than, for instance, India, although we are still waiting for newer data from India," he adds. "China increased R&D expenditure to $85 billion in 2003, and you can trace that back to $12 billion in 1990"-an expansion by a factor of seven in 13 years. "That helps to explain the performance of China in the world markets. It's not only cheap production, it's a lot of R&D."

Europe "has taken note of the trend," according to Fernández Polcuch. "The European Union has set some major policy goals for 2010 about increasing their R&D expenditure to 3% of the gross domestic product. It's currently a bit less than 2%."

Europe also intends to draw more people into the research profession. That may require a reversal of some recent trends in the region. In Germany, for instance, the number of researchers as measured in full-time-equivalent personnel slipped from 484,734 in 2000 to 472,533 in 2003 and to an estimated 469,100 the following year. In France, on the other hand, the number of researchers expanded from 327,466 in 2000 to 346,078 in 2003.

Some of the most disappointing numbers come from the Russian Federation. There, science is in a severe decline, with R&D staffing falling from 1,007,257 to 973,382 between 2000 and 2003 followed by a further drop to 951,569 in 2004.

Asian data on science professionals are mixed. In China, the number of R&D personnel rose from 922,131 in 2000 to 1,094,831 in 2003 and to 1,152,617 the following year. Japan's R&D sector employed 896,847 in 2000 and 882,414 in 2003. South Korea's R&D employment surged from 138,077 to 186,214 between 2000 and 2003; however, these numbers are based on partial data.

One way in which countries can expand their R&D workforce is to attract more women into the profession. UNESCO recently analyzed the participation of women in science and will publish a special analysis on the subject later this year. The organization found that some 27% of the world's researchers are women, as measured by head count. That figure excludes input from the U.S. and Canada, which do not currently publish official R&D statistics broken down by gender, Fernèndez Polcuch says. The countries recently began collecting this data, however.

By region, the UNESCO data show that participation of women in science varies enormously. For instance, in Latin America, 46% of researchers are women, demonstrating a unique societal role for science. Science, according to Fernèndez Polcuch, "is a more feminized profession in Latin America."

In many Latin American countries, he explains, "the salaries of researchers are very low. So it is a career that is sometimes thought of as a second income for a family rather than a first income. And in societies that are very much structured around the male figure having to provide for the family, research careers are not very attractive. In Europe and North America, the salaries are much better, and, of course, then the profession has a different profile."

In Europe, just 32% of researchers are women, reflecting that different profile. The region is working to increase the participation of women, and indeed their role has expanded over the past few years, particularly in Western Europe, Fernèndez Polcuch says.

In Asia, however, only 15% of researchers are women. "In regions like Asia, and especially in Japan, Korea, or India, the percentage of women working as researchers is very low," according to Fernèndez Polcuch. "We're talking about 10% in India, 11% in Korea, and 12% in Japan. These are the lowest in the world. One can understand that there are cultural issues accompanying this."

Cultural issues also affect the movement of scientists from one nation to another. In the past, that movement typically took the form of "brain drain," in which scientists from developing countries immigrated to regions such as the U.S., Canada, and Europe because of a greater demand for researchers in the developed world, he notes.

In some regions of the developing world this practice continues, but the migration of scientists is no longer so unidirectional. Instead, "brain circulation" patterns are becoming apparent, according to Fernndez Polcuch. "Researchers come back from the U.S. and Europe to China and India to continue their research in their countries. You can see this from the expenditure data. R&D is getting more important in Asian countries."

Even in cases where scientists don't return home, they may be more than willing to contribute to the development of their country of origin, according to researchers at the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics. Postdoctoral research fellow Béatrice Séguin and Abdallah S. Daar, professor of public health sciences and of surgery, reported last month in an article in Science (2006, 312, 1602) that many of these immigrant scientists feel "a moral responsibility or need to 'give back' " to their home countries.

The authors interviewed 60 life sciences researchers and entrepreneurs who had moved to Canada from developing nations. "What surprised us was the unanimity with which the study participants favored the idea of contributing to science and technology innovation in their countries of origin," Daar tells C&EN. "We were also surprised at the low number of respondents who have actually been involved in activities to help their countries of origin."

Most of the study participants "weren't aware of any concrete mechanism through which they could act," Séguin adds. "Many expressed a desire for some kind of support to facilitate that interaction."

To help these expatriate scientists aid their home countries, Daar and Séguin propose the formation of a national science corps in industrialized countries. The corps would provide funding for the researchers to travel to scientific institutions in their home countries. Daar and Séguin also recommend the creation of business initiatives that would support partnerships between business and entrepreneurial communities in industrialized countries and immigrants' home countries.

Whether a scientist returns home or not is becoming less of an issue as the world becomes more connected. "It's not really important where a person is physically situated," Daar notes. "You can still do a lot of good wherever you are in the world if you are so inclined."