Does Biotechnology Innovation Drive Economic Growth? Panel Evidence from Developed Economies, 2018-2023
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Abstract
In today's world, the biotechnology field is not just a scientific development but also a pivotal economic contributor across healthcare, agriculture, and many other industries. This study explores the crucial relationship between the biotechnology innovations and the economic growth indicators of 11 nations for the years 2018 to 2023. A secondary dataset comprising 11 countries over 6 years was gathered and used to conduct correlation and regression analyses. These analyses help evaluate how innovation indicators affect an economy's growth. The findings reveal a strong global biotechnological innovation infrastructure dominated by the United States, while Switzerland shows extraordinary innovation efficiency during the selected period. The correlation test shows a strong positive relationship among various innovation parameters, including Research and Development Spending and nations' GDP shares, as well as biotechnology patent registrations. However, the regression results for both Fixed and Random effects fail to establish an impactful relationship between innovation and economic parameters. The findings suggest that policymakers should consider longer-term data when evaluating R&D investments and develop dedicated frameworks for measuring innovation impacts beyond traditional GDP metrics. The study enriches the innovation economics literature by verifying the complex, non-linear relationship between biotechnology innovation inputs and economic growth outcomes.
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