Implicit in this is the idea that if country X invests a significantly larger amount in research than country Y, then X will have significantly more output than

Implicit in this is the idea that if country X invests a significantly larger amount in research than country Y, then X will have significantly more output than Y. I don't buy this. And the reason I don't is because my own country, a small one, gets so much of its input from the US, that a doubling of research spending probably wouldn't do much of a corresponding difference (not produce many more Feynmans, I'm afraid). Culture within the country (e.g. attitude towards disruptors) and how the institutions are set up matters a huge amount.