The History of Public/Private Partnerships -- Public Support of Innovation -- Technological Change and R&D -- Alternative Models of Technological Change -- The Patent System -- Tax Incentives -- Research Collaborations -- Research Joint Ventures -- Advanced Technology Program -- National Institute of Standards and Technology -- Small Business Innovation Research Program -- Program Evaluation -- Concluding Statement.

Research and development (R & D) leads to innovation, and innovation leads to technological change. Technological change, in turn, is the primary driver of economic growth. Public/private partnerships -- cooperative relationships among industry, government, and/or universities -- leverage the efficiency of R & D and are thus a critical aspect of a nation's innovation system. This text is intended for upper-level undergraduate and MBA courses such as Economics and Technology, Economics of Innovation, and Economics of Science and Technology, among others. The first chapter introduces the concept of public/private research partnerships along with other concepts fundamental to an understanding of innovation and technology policy. The framework chapters (2-5) set forth an argument for the public's role - government's role - in innovation in general and in public/private partnership in particular. The remaining chapters (6-14) describe a number of public/private partnerships and, to the extent possible, evaluate their social impact.