The contributors to this volume explore the implications of government funding of scientific research and offer alternatives to the heavy reliance on government support that research and development (R&D) currently enjoys. Each author squarely confronts the problems arising from the idea that government funding of R&D is and ought to be the norm.

What are the implications of government funding of scientific research? Are there alternatives independent of government support for research and development (R&D)? Here are some different possible options.

How does history end? -- The Red Queen -- Will to power -- Economics outside the corridor -- Allegory of good government -- The European scissors -- Mandate of Heaven -- Broken Red Queen -- Devil in the details -- What's the matter with Ferguson? -- The paper leviathan -- Wahhab's children -- Red Queen out of control -- Into the corridor -- Living with the leviathan.

By the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Economics, an essential and paradigm-altering framework for understanding economic development--for both rich and poor--in the twenty-first century. Freedom, Sen argues, is both the end and most efficient means of sustaining economic life and the key to securing the general welfare of the world's entire population. Releasing the idea of individual freedom from association with any particular historical, intellectual, political, or religious tradition, Sen clearly demonstrates its current applicability and possibilities. In the new global economy, where, despite unprecedented increases in overall opulence, the contemporary world denies elementary freedoms to vast numbers--perhaps even the majority of people--he concludes, it is still possible to practically and optimistically restain a sense of social accountability. Development as Freedom is essential reading.

Most industrial nations actively support research and development of advanced computer technology. They usually justify public expenditures on the basis of both economic and national security benefits. This heavy government involvement and the international nature of the computer industry have created increasing challenges to accepted principles of international trade and investment. In this detailed analysis of the origins and evolution of government support for computer technology in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, Kenneth Flamm compares the amounts these countries have invested and how they have organized public and private funding over the past thirty-five years. He challenges popular myths about the size and effectiveness of government programs to support computer technology, and argues that the data suggest a high social rate of return on those investments. Flamm concludes that the United States must reevaluate its policies on research and development. The role of military programs as the primary vehicle for computer technology development should be de-emphasized in favor of support for joint, pre-competitive industrial research. Cooperative research ventures linking universities and industry also ought to be encouraged. Since global markets are vital to American computer firms, Flamm argues that policies to promote orderly international trade and investment in high-technology products are needed to avoid an expanding spiral of protectionism.