U.S. research and development grew at a faster rate than the gross domestic product in 2011.Image credit: Thinkstock via NSFAfter accounting for inflation, R&D grew at a faster rate than the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011. Preliminary data for 2012 indicate similar findings. This growth is in marked contrast to data for 2009 and 2010, which showed essentially no growth in R&D, even while GDP did expand both years. The data showed that the renewed increase in business R&D contributed most significantly to the improved U.S. R&D numbers for 2011 and 2012.

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