R&D in the Korean nuclear industry: a Romerian view

Abstract

Romer’s (1990) growth model focuses on the creation of new ideas through research and development as the source of sustained economic growth. From the Romerian view, the present study aims to examine the research productivity and idea elasticity in the Korean nuclear industry. To obtain insight into the growth potential of the nuclear sector, we also analyzed other major sectors such as the information & communications technology, space, and bio industries. The estimation results show that the research productivity of the nuclear industry shows no clear sign of decreasing returns until recent years. In addition, the idea elasticity of the nuclear sector is higher compared to the other industries. Accordingly, R&D in the nuclear sector appears to be more effective than in the other industries. As a policy prescription, we suggest that sustained R&D investment in the nuclear sector is essential for technology innovation.