on a performer-basis as advocated in the Frascati Manual^12 and as implemented in the data collection for
the other performing sectors. However, using budget data has the advantage of investigating the direct
link between government spending on R&D and policy issues by means of classification of the funds by
socio-economic objectives.
This functional breakdown reflects specific policies as introduced by the government at a given point in
time, the allocation being determined with reference to the time the government has initially intended to
devote an amount of resources to R&D activities.
The distribution by socio-economic objective has been specifically designed by the OECD for R&D
statistics as suggested in the reference manual. It is the following:
- Development of agriculture, forestry and fishing
- Promotion of industrial development
- Production and rational use of energy
- Development of the infrastructure
Transport and telecommunications
Urban and rural planning - Monitoring and protection of the environment
Prevention of pollution
Identification and treatment of pollution - Health (excluding pollution)
- Social development and services
- Exploration and exploitation of the Earth and the atmosphere
- General advancement of knowledge
Advancement of research
General university funds - Civil space
- Defence
Some remarks on government spending on R&D as collected by the OECD:
- The above distribution by objectives reflects the policy intentions of a given programme rather
than its precise contents; - Methodological constraints: outlays should be allocated to the objectives according to the
primary intention of the programme. Nevertheless a discrepancy between the purpose and the
content of the programme may arise;
(^12) R&D is an activity where there are significant transfers across units and sectors. The Frascati Manual indicates two
alternative ways of measuring such transfers. The first, and most recommended, is performer-based: the sums a single
unit or sector has received from another unit or sector for the performance of intramural R&D should be reported. The
second criterion is source-based: it reports extramural expenditures defined as the sums a single unit or sector has paid
to another unit or sector for the performance of R&D.