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A Benefit-Cost Approach to the Evaluation of State Technology Development Programs
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1994
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Applied EconomicsEducationSoftware EngineeringTechnology AssessmentPolicy AnalysisProgram EvaluationProductivityTechno-economic AnalysisEconomic AnalysisCat ProgramEvaluation MethodologyTechnology TransferNew York StatePublic PolicyEconomicsResearch CommercializationTechnological Development PolicyCostbenefit AnalysisTechnology PolicyCost EffectivenessInnovationEconomic PolicyBenefit-cost StudyBusinessTechnologyBenefit-cost Approach
A benefit-cost study of New York State's Centers for Advanced Technology (CAT) program was undertaken to (1) respond to increasing legislative and executive demands for quantitative assessments of these programs; (2) demonstrate the feasibility, within identified limits, of evaluating the economic impacts of state technology programs; and (3) use the empirical findings to highlight important but largely ignored economic and political issues related to distributive criteria and differences in the distribution of benefits between producers and consumers. Estimated total state benefits related to increases in private- and public-sector research grants, technological innovation and increased productivity, increased or retained employment, and improved quality of the technical workforce ranged between $190 million and $360 million, or between three and six times New York's direct investment in the CAT program.