Fishing out effect

The nature of technological progress has positive and negative effect on spending in research & development.

 

On the on hand researcher today know more and can use a larger set of tools than did those who came before them

 

Thus, we would expect researachers today to be more productive

 

On the other hand, it is more difficult for researchers today discovering new technologies because the easiest discoveries have already benn made

 

This negarive effect of past discoveries on making discoveries today is called the fishing out effect

 

Romer1990Jones2005.pdf