The Economics of Science: Interview with Terence Kealey – Scientific American
SA: How did you come to your view that government funding of science doesn’t stimulate economic growth?
TK: When I was a scientist in Britain during the 1980s, [former British prime minister] Margaret Thatcher was cutting funds for British university science to some extent. Everyone was saying that this would destroy British economic growth, while in fact this coincided with Britain’s recovery. That made me look for the first time really critically at the common assumption that the government funding of science is essential for economic growth.