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Rationalizing risk aversion in science: Why incentives to work hard clash with incentives to take risks
Kevin Gross1, Carl T Bergstrom2
1Dept. of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.
Plos Biology
|August 15, 2024
Summary
Scientific incentives often discourage high-risk, high-return research. Current systems reward effort over risky innovation, slowing scientific progress and leaving researchers in suboptimal situations.
Area of Science:
- Economics of Science
- Scientific Innovation Policy
Background:
- Scientific progress relies on risk-taking, yet funding often favors caution.
- Funding agencies struggle to attract high-risk, high-return research proposals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore why incentives fail to promote risky scientific research.
- To analyze the conflict between encouraging effort and risk-taking in science.
Main Methods:
- Adaptation of an economic contracting model.
- Analysis of a hidden-action problem in scientific reward structures.
Main Results:
- Unobservable risk and effort discourage high-risk research.
- Incentives for effort clash with incentives for risk-taking.
- Scientists favor safe projects, hindering rapid scientific advancement.
Conclusions:
- Current self-governing reward systems in science are insufficient to motivate optimal risk-taking.
- Policies prioritizing productivity over researcher well-being could induce risk but increase livelihood insecurity.
- Realigning incentives is crucial for accelerating scientific discovery.
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