Time to Research? The Cyclicality of Time Use in R&D Among Private and Public Sector Workers

Abstract

This paper investigates the cyclicality of time allocated towards research and development (R&D) activities. First, using longitudinal micro-data from 2000-2013, I find that time allocated towards research activities is highly procyclical among private sector employees, but countercyclical among public sector employees. These results are robust to a supplementary classification of R&D workers based O*NET occupational task concentrations matched with the American Time Use Survey from 2003-2017. Second, I find suggestive evidence that these asymmetric effects are the result of financing constraints in the private sector. Public sector workers, in contrast, exhibit greater stability in their response of time use to cyclical shocks.

Keywords: cyclicality, innovation, public and private sector, research & development

JEL Classification: J22, O31, O32, O38