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Comparison of Scale in a Photosynthetic Reactor System for Algal Remediation of Wastewater

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Universities scale like cities.

Anthony F J van Raan¹

¹Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. vanraan@cwts.leidenuniv.nl

|April 2, 2013

Summary

Universities, like cities, exhibit nonlinear scaling laws where larger institutions generate disproportionately more income and citations. Local factors such as field composition and quality explain deviations from these scaling patterns.

Area of Science:

Complex systems science
Bibliometrics
Urban studies

Background:

Socioeconomic city characteristics, such as wealth and innovation, exhibit nonlinear power law scaling with population size.
These scaling laws suggest larger cities are disproportionately more innovative and wealthier.
Local city properties can cause deviations from predicted scaling behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if universities exhibit similar nonlinear scaling behaviors as cities.
To analyze the scaling of 'gross university income' (total citations) with university 'size' (total publications).
To identify factors causing deviations from expected university scaling patterns.

Main Methods:

Analysis of power law scaling for universities based on publication and citation data.

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Comparison of university scaling exponents with urban scaling exponents.

Examination of local university properties, including field-specific composition and field-normalized citation impact, to explain deviations.

Study of the 500 largest universities globally and the top-100 European universities.

Main Results:

Universities demonstrate power law scaling for 'gross university income' versus 'size', with exponents comparable to urban scaling.
Deviations from scaling are explained by university-specific factors like field composition and citation impact.
Analysis revealed insights into preferential attachment in networked systems.

Conclusions:

Universities exhibit nonlinear scaling laws similar to cities, indicating disproportionate growth in income and citations with size.
Field composition and quality are key determinants of university performance deviations from scaling laws.
The study highlights the applicability of complex systems principles to academic institutions.