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Investments in research have increased in the last two decades in almost all industries and scientific fields. Figuring in research investment decisions are cost considerations. Research cost structures differ considerably between industries and disciplines and have an impact on the organisation of research and the decisions about where geographically this research should be located. In some fields such as energy research or nanoelectronics, heavy investments in equipment or clean rooms are needed. In other areas, research costs consist mainly of personnel costs. Moreover, high research costs for equipment in particle physics or trials in pharmaceutical research also implies that research can only be organized in cooperation between countries, firms and research organisations. Differences in the cost of research between countries may have an increasing effect on the decisions of multinational enterprises about where to locate research functions. The availability of high-skilled research personnel in low-cost locations such as India, China or other parts of the world may increasingly influence the internationalisation of research and change the profile of research activities in Europe.

Official statistics distinguish between labour, capital and other current costs. Statistical data reveal, for instance, that the share of labour cost has remained unchanged while capital costs have declined in the last two decades. Despite a poor coverage of countries (especially the BRIC countries, but also many EU15 countries) and industries in these statistics, their trajectories reasonably suggest that there are wide variations between countries and sectors with regard …