Scientific output continues to rise across the OECD area and patent data shows a surge of innovation in all OECD countries and across many technology fields, in particular in ICT and biotechnology. The Russians spent a huge amount on such research but were incapable of producing goods that sold well on global markets. The US has also spent a lot on such research but with much better results. This helps explain the dominance of the US in these fields. But government funding is no guarantee of success.
Innovation is increasingly something done across companies, rather than simply by one company.
Innovation thus relies much more on networking and co-operation, including between science and industry. As the costs and risks of innovation have increased, firms have become more specialised, shifting from an inward to a more outward orientation. Companies can no longer cover all relevant disciplines. More of the financing of innovation is now directed towards new firms and risky projects. Here the US leads, as a result of its great availability of venture capital.