The economic benefits of big science R&D: With a focus on fusion R&D program in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>This paper is focused on the analysis of spillover benefits of the ongoing R&D program on nuclear fusion in Korea. An empirical analysis was conducted on the economic spillover effects of nuclear fusion research and development (R&D) program by investigating cases of actual participating enterprises. The 24 representative enterprises were selected from about 250 enterprises that participated in the KSTAR and ITER projects. The analysis showed that the effect of increasing sales was a total of 1,538,600MKRW in the 24 enterprises that participated in the KSTAR and ITER projects; about 527 human resources have been fostered in industrial enterprises. Additionally, network analysis results show some cases in which the participating enterprises have extended their businesses into international and domestic fields of nuclear fusion and particle accelerators as well as into private markets.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Recently, many studies have been conducted in advanced countries to analyze the spillover effects of big science equipment that has already been constructed, particularly for partnerships with industrial enterprises that have participated in the construction process as well as in terms of relevant technological innovation. However, there has been no systematic study conducted in South Korea on the effect of constructing a big scientific research facility on the participating industrial enterprises. </LI> <LI> The purpose of this study is to conduct an empirical analysis of the spillover effects of a nuclear fusion research and development (R&D) program by investigating cases of actual participating enterprises and identifying implications for relevant policies. </LI> <LI> The Nuclear Fusion Energy Development Plan was begun with the KSTAR construction project under the National Nuclear Fusion R&D Program, established in 1995. Currently, the Program has been divided into the KSTAR project, the ITER project, the DEMO project, and basic research and human resources fostering projects. In addition, about 250 companies are participating in the KSTAR and ITER projects. </LI> <LI> In this article, to verify the presence of theory-based spillover effects in South Korea and to identify relevant implications, the South Korean case of nuclear fusion research was analyzed with respect to the three types of R&D spillover effect described in previous studies, which are market spillover effect, network spillover effect, and knowledge spillover effect. </LI> <LI> In-depth interviews were performed with 24 enterprises (10%) out of about 250 enterprises that have participated in nuclear fusion R&D program (69 enterprises in the KSTAR project and 180 enterprises in the ITER projects). Analytical results show that the economic spillover effect of nuclear fusion R&D program was significant. Spillover effects of each type are shown below. First, with regard to the market spillover effect, the contribution ratio of nuclear fusion R&D program to the increase of the sales of the 24 enterprises that participated in the KSTAR and ITER projects was 19.1% on average; the total amount of sales increase was estimated to be 1,538,600MKRW. The analysis showed that the 24 participating enterprises have created a sales-increasing effect greater than the financial input to the KSTAR and ITER projects (762,600MKRW). Second, with regard to the knowledge spillover effect, 238 new jobs were created in the 24 participating enterprises through participation in the KSTAR and ITER projects; a total of 527 human resources in the industrial enterprises have experienced nuclear fusion. Finally, analysis of the network spillover effect showed that 15 enterprises (62%) out of the 24 enterprises participating in the nuclear fusion R&D program have extended their businesses to other relevant technological fields. </LI> </UL> </P>