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US Federal Debt Outstanding vs US Resident Patent Applications
US Federal Debt Outstanding and US Resident Patent Applications correlate at r = +0.90 over 42 years (1980–2021), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = -0.16. Likely spurious (shared time trend).
Verdict: Likely spurious (shared time trend). Both series mostly just trend over time. After removing that trend the correlation collapses to -0.16 — the relationship is probably coincidental, not causal.
- Pearson r
- +0.90
- p-value
- < 0.0001
- Years compared (n)
- 42 (1980–2021)
- 95% confidence interval
- 0.82 to 0.94
- Correlation with the time trend removed
- -0.16
Sources
- US Federal Debt Outstanding (USD): U.S. Treasury. Total US federal debt outstanding at the end of each fiscal year (U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data).
- US Resident Patent Applications (applications): World Bank. US Resident Patent Applications (World Bank indicator IP.PAT.RESD).
Related pairs
- US Mobile Subscriptions vs US Resident Patent Applications (r = +0.99)
- US Renewable Energy Share vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
- US Wind Power Generation vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
- US Adult Obesity vs US Resident Patent Applications (r = +0.98)
- US Resident Patent Applications vs US Population (r = +0.98)
- Atmospheric CO₂ (Mauna Loa) vs US Resident Patent Applications (r = +0.97)
Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.