Imposed R&D: An examination of the effects of environmental-control requirements on industrial R&D programs

Although much attention has been given to the potential impact of capital expenditures for pollution-abatement equipment on the operating effectiveness and organization of American industry, little or no attention has been given to the amount of diversion from traditional endeavors which environmental-control requirements have caused in industrial R&D and the subsequent impacts of this diversion. This paper deals explicitly with the former of these concerns, namely how industry allocates its R&D resources in a transition period following the imposition of previously ignored operating and product requirements by the government.