The Government is to lift state spending on research & development from 0.6% to 0.8% of GDP in an effort to boost innovation and economic growth.
Doubling r&d spending to 1% of GDP is one of six targets on the Government's business growth agenda.
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says the Government will play its part by boosting research spending but Radio New Zealand's economics correspondent says it won't be at the expense of the books returning to surplus by 2014-15 as planned.
Mr Joyce says research spending by companies has risen at a respectable rate in recent years, but remains below the average for developed countries.
