Through pooled cross-sectional analysis of data from the OECD’s triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we estimate the effects of a nation’s research and development expenditure on scientific literacy. Controlling for economic, educational, and demographic factors for over sixty countries between 1998 and 2015, we find that the amount of funds a nation allocates towards research and development has a positive and statistically significant association with scientific literacy. These results suggest that, along with established socioeconomic and educational determinants of scholastic achievement, the prioritization of research and development by a nation—beginning with policymakers—may function as a tacit cultural approval of science, and therefore may be auspicious to the quality and efficacy of science education
