Chart of the week: America loses its edge in science

"America's century-old dominance in science and technology is slipping," says Matthew Campbell on Bloomberg. Excluding defence, federal funding for research and development (R&D) has now fallen from 2.1% of the government budget in 2004 to under 1.7% today. Overall, R&D spending is around 3%, with South Korea and Germany eclipsing the US since 2005. The worry now is that the Trump administration's heavy-handed approach to immigration could deter talented scientists from coming to the US.

Viewpoint

"[Europe] is becoming much less relevant on the global stage. The profits that are generated by European-listed companies as a percentage of the global market have, since 2001, halved Over the same period the US and Japan have held their own [Japan] has been doing well relative to Europe. The Japanese population stands at roughly 127 million. The population of Europe is roughly 743 million. Despite having only 17% of the human capital, Japan Inc now generates the equivalent of 50% of European profits. It is unlikely that UK investors currently have half as much exposure to Japanese stocks as they do to European ones, but perhaps they should."

Tim Price, Price Value Partners

Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today

Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.

Start your trial

Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Sign up