India, Nov. 13 -- What does last week's election victory of the Democrats have to do with India's long-term economic development? More than we may realise. I am not referring to potential changes on tariffs on Indian goods or a more favorable immigration policy. These are short-term changes that depend on the political mood of the moment. The more consequential change may be the restoration of American investment in science, on which India's future productivity growth depends in ways we rarely appreciate.

Every time we open a mapping application to find our location, use a cell phone, or access the internet, we benefit from decades of US government investment in science. Many of these technologies began as ideas funded by the US governme...