As U.S. industry faces worldwide challenges, policymakers are asking questions about the role of the federal government--not only in promoting basic research but also in ushering new innovations to the marketplace. This book offers an expert consensus on how government and industry together can respond to the new realities of a global marketplace. The volume offers firm conclusions about policy and organizational changes with the greatest potential to improve our technological competitiveness--and presents three alternative approaches for a new federal role. The volume examines How federal involvement in technology development affects the nation's economic well-being. What we can learn from past federal efforts to stimulate civilian technology development--in the United States and among our major industrial competitors. How trends in productivity, R&D, and other key areas have affected U.S. performance, and how we compare to the world's rising industrial economies. Offering guidance on one of the 1990s most important issues, this volume will be indispensible to federal policymakers, executives in industry and technology, and researchers.