Overall, public R&D has a rate of return of 140-210%, they concluded. Crucially, this is a much higher estimate than the 30-70% rates of return economists calculate for private R&D, said Fieldhouse.

This periodic series of three images and responses to questions tells the stories of people of The Valley who love what they do. As Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never work ...