The spillovers from public R&D grants are large and reach far across geographic and technological space, and focusing only on firms that directly receive grants causes you to miss a lot of what's going on.
Abstract: We quantify the magnitude of R&D spillovers created by grants to small firms from the US Department of Energy. Our empirical strategy leverages variation due to state-specific matching policies, and we develop a new approach to measuring both geographic and technological spillovers that does not rely on an observable paper trail. Our estimates suggest that for every patent produced by grant recipients, three more are produced by others who benefit from spillovers. Sixty percent of these spillovers occur within the United States, and many of them occur in technological areas substantially different from those targeted by the grants.
Kyle R. Myers
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Abstact: This paper identifies the degree to which scientists are willing to change the direction of their work in exchange for resources. Data from the National Institutes of Health are used to estimate how scientists respond to targeted funding opportunities. Inducing a scientist to change their direction by a small amount—to work on marginally different topics—requires a substantial amount of funding in expectation. The switching costs of science are large. The productivity of grants is also estimated, and it appears the additional costs of targeted research may be more than offset by more productive scientists pursuing these grants.
Abstract: We examine trends in the productivity of the pharmaceutical sector over the past three decades. Motivated by Ricardo’s insight regarding demand-driven productivity in settings of scarce resources, we examine the industry’s aggregate R&D production function. Using exogenous demand shocks to instrument investments, we find that demand growth can explain a large portion of R&D growth, and the industry’s returns to scale have been stable whereas total factor productivity has declined significantly. Predictions based on these results are in line with Ricardo’s conclusion that productivity and rents are endogenous to demand.
Abstract: COVID-19 has not affected all scientists equally. A survey of principal investigators indicates that female scientists, those in the ‘bench sciences’ and, especially, scientists with young children experienced a substantial decline in time devoted to research. This could have important short- and longer-term effects on their careers, which institution leaders and funders need to address carefully.
Kyle Myers is an assistant professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management unit. He teaches the first-year Technology and Operations Management course.
Professor Myers studies the economics of innovation. His research is at the intersection of science, business, and public policy. More specifically, Professor Myers is interested in the strategic choices and performance of scientists, the supply and demand of innovation in high-tech sectors, public versus private funding of R&D, and the management of innovation in high-tech organizations. His work has received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation.
Professor Myers holds a Ph.D. from the Wharton School’s Department of Health Care Management and Economics. He has a M.S. in Health Policy and Management and a B.S. in Biology from Penn State University. Prior to joining HBS, he served as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Featured Work
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The spillovers from public R&D grants are large and reach far across geographic and technological space, and focusing only on firms that directly receive grants causes you to miss a lot of what's going on.
Abstract: We quantify the magnitude of R&D spillovers created by grants to small firms from the US Department of Energy. Our empirical strategy leverages variation due to state-specific matching policies, and we develop a new approach to measuring both geographic and technological spillovers that does not rely on an observable paper trail. Our estimates suggest that for every patent produced by grant recipients, three more are produced by others who benefit from spillovers. Sixty percent of these spillovers occur within the United States, and many of them occur in technological areas substantially different from those targeted by the grants.The adjustment costs of science -- getting scientists to study what you want them to -- are very large.
Abstact: This paper identifies the degree to which scientists are willing to change the direction of their work in exchange for resources. Data from the National Institutes of Health are used to estimate how scientists respond to targeted funding opportunities. Inducing a scientist to change their direction by a small amount—to work on marginally different topics—requires a substantial amount of funding in expectation. The switching costs of science are large. The productivity of grants is also estimated, and it appears the additional costs of targeted research may be more than offset by more productive scientists pursuing these grants.When people want more new drugs, firms are happy to invest in ideas that cost more. And as they run out of "low hanging fruit" while demand keeps growing, R&D costs will naturally grow.
Abstract: We examine trends in the productivity of the pharmaceutical sector over the past three decades. Motivated by Ricardo’s insight regarding demand-driven productivity in settings of scarce resources, we examine the industry’s aggregate R&D production function. Using exogenous demand shocks to instrument investments, we find that demand growth can explain a large portion of R&D growth, and the industry’s returns to scale have been stable whereas total factor productivity has declined significantly. Predictions based on these results are in line with Ricardo’s conclusion that productivity and rents are endogenous to demand.Abstract: COVID-19 has not affected all scientists equally. A survey of principal investigators indicates that female scientists, those in the ‘bench sciences’ and, especially, scientists with young children experienced a substantial decline in time devoted to research. This could have important short- and longer-term effects on their careers, which institution leaders and funders need to address carefully.
- Journal Articles
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- Myers, Kyle, and Lauren Lanahan. "Estimating Spillovers from Publicly Funded R&D: Evidence from the US Department of Energy." American Economic Review 112, no. 7 (July 2022): 2393–2423. View Details
- Krieger, Joshua L., Kyle R. Myers, and Ariel D. Stern. "How Important Is Editorial Gatekeeping? Evidence from Top Biomedical Journals." Review of Economics and Statistics (forthcoming). (Pre-published online May 29, 2023.) View Details
- Gao, Jian, Yian Yin, Kyle R. Myers, Karim R. Lakhani, and Dashun Wang. "Potentially Long-Lasting Effects of the Pandemic on Scientists." Art. 6188. Nature Communications 12 (2021). View Details
- Myers, Kyle, Wei Yang Tham, Yian Yin, Nina Cohodes, Marie Thursby, Jerry Thursby, Peter Schiffer, Joseph Walsh, Karim R. Lakhani, and Dashun Wang. "Unequal Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Scientists." Nature Human Behaviour 4, no. 9 (September 2020): 880–883. View Details
- Myers, Kyle. "The Elasticity of Science." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 12, no. 4 (October 2020): 103–134. View Details
- Myers, Kyle, and Mark Pauly. "Endogenous Productivity of Demand-Induced R&D: Evidence from Pharmaceuticals." RAND Journal of Economics 50, no. 3 (Fall 2019): 591–614. View Details
- Book Chapters
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- Myers, Kyle, and Mark Pauly. "Pharmaceutical Trends, Not What They Seem." In Managing Discovery in the Life Sciences: Harnessing Creativity to Drive Biomedical Innovation, by Philip A. Rea, Mark V. Pauly, and Lawton R. Burns, 18–42. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. View Details
- Working Papers
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- Myers, Kyle, Wei Yang Tham, Jerry Thursby, Marie Thursby, Nina Cohodes, Karim R. Lakhani, Rachel Mural, and Yilun Xu. "New Facts and Data about Professors and Their Research." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-036, December 2023. View Details
- Myers, Kyle, and Wei Yang Tham. "Money, Time, and Grant Design." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-037, December 2023. View Details
- Myers, Kyle, Matt Grennan, Ashley Swanson, and Aaron K. Chatterji. "No Free Lunch? Welfare Analysis of Firms Selling Through Expert Intermediaries." Working Paper, May 2023. View Details
- Cases and Teaching Materials
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- Krieger, Joshua Lev, Jim Matheson, Kyle Myers, Gunnar Trumbull, and Richard Vietor. "Commonwealth Fusion Systems: Born at Scale." Harvard Business School Case 825-061, August 2024. (Revised November 2024.) View Details
- Myers, Kyle, and Scott Sawaya. "Myeloma Investment Fund." Harvard Business School Case 625-047, September 2024. View Details
- Myers, Kyle R., Rembrand Koning, Solene Delecourt, Katelyn Cranney, Kris Gulati, and Scott Sawaya. "Managing Science: Perspectives from Postdocs." Harvard Business School Case 625-048, August 2024. View Details
- Myers, Kyle, and Joshua Lev Krieger. "Fusion Industry Association: Igniting the Future of Clean Energy." Harvard Business School PowerPoint Supplement 624-082, February 2024. View Details
- Myers, Kyle, Joshua Lev Krieger, Walter Frick, and Jim Matheson. "Fusion Industry Association: Igniting the Future of Clean Energy." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 624-067, February 2024. View Details
- Krieger, Joshua Lev, Jim Matheson, Kyle R. Myers, and Henry Tao. "Fusion Industry Association: Igniting the Future of Clean Energy." Harvard Business School Case 624-064, January 2024. View Details
- Myers, Kyle, and Walter Frick. "X: The Foghorn Decision." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 624-065, February 2024. (Revised March 2024.) View Details
- Greenstein, Shane, Kyle R. Myers, and Sarah Mehta. "Digital Manufacturing at Amgen." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 622-013, March 2022. View Details
- Myers, Kyle, Matt Grennan, and Sarah Mehta. "Kermit PPI." Harvard Business School Case 622-007, November 2021. View Details
- Greenstein, Shane, Kyle R. Myers, and Sarah Mehta. "Digital Manufacturing at Amgen." Harvard Business School Case 621-008, February 2021. View Details
- Huckman, Robert S., Karim R. Lakhani, and Kyle R. Myers. "X: The Foghorn Decision." Harvard Business School Case 618-060, March 2018. (Revised September 2023.) View Details
- Research Summary
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Professor Myers studies the economics of what determines the rate and direction of innovation. He has examined the reallocation of scientists through the use of targeted research grants at the National Institutes of Health, and is working to further understand how scientists choose their pursuits, and how policies and organizations can influence this. Professor Myers has also researched the dramatic growth in R&D in the pharmaceutical industry, drawing on traditional economic theories of scarce resources to explain productivity declines during periods of demand growth. He is also currently investigating how industry-physician interactions influence physicians’ treatment choices and the type of research they conduct. Though his current research is based in the health care sector, Professor Myers is interested in exploring the economics of innovation in many different high-technology industries.Keywords: Technology Networks; Commercialization; Science-Based Business; Research and Development; Knowledge Management; Patents; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Health Care and Treatment; Entrepreneurship; Health; Innovation and Invention; Science; Technology; Knowledge; Intellectual Property; Economics; Microeconomics; Biotechnology Industry; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Technology Industry
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- Areas of Interest
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