Standards and innovation: US public/private partnerships to support technology-based economic growth

Abstract

This paper examines how strategic alliances to create and use standards affect economic growth and development. The explanation of the link from standards to economic growth and development is through the effects of standards on the incentives to perform industrial research and development (R&D). We examine product standards, metrology traceable to national and international standards, and regulatory standards to address negative externalities. The paper develops a theoretical explanation for the link from standards to growth, survey/interview-guides to gather information from industrial R&D experts about the explanation, and case-study evidence about the explanation. We discuss the standard-setting process and explain that it entails strategic alliances among firms and with government involvement. Case studies of R&D projects in firms and in a national laboratory support the belief that standards implemented via strategic alliances leverage economic growth and development.