Political earmarks aren’t just pork-barrel funding

Evidence from US suggests letting politicians choose projects can aid innovation efforts, says Holmer Kok

Policy and academic circles are experiencing a heated debate on the effects of public research funding on innovation. Much of this revolves around the optimal way to allocate such money. 

Academics frequently believe that they are best positioned to evaluate research and decide which projects should be backed. In this view, complications emerge when other parties, for instance from industry or government, get involved.