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Related Experiment Videos

Measuring science: an exploration

J Adams1, Z Griliches

  • 1Department of Economics, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-7140, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|November 12, 1996
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Academic research and development (R&D) spending shows diminishing returns when measuring output by papers or citations. New data suggest spillovers play a significant, unmeasured role in scientific productivity.

Area of Science:

  • Economics of Science
  • Science and Technology Policy
  • Research and Development Management

Background:

  • Academic research and development (R&D) expenditures are key indicators of scientific enterprise output.
  • Previous analyses using Science and Engineering Indicators data suggested diminishing returns to R&D investment.
  • Concerns existed regarding the accuracy and scope of existing data for measuring R&D productivity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-evaluate the relationship between academic R&D expenditures and scientific output using updated data.
  • To investigate the presence and extent of diminishing returns in academic R&D.
  • To identify potential measurement issues and the role of external factors in scientific productivity.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of United States academic R&D expenditures, publication counts, and citation data.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Utilized a newer dataset encompassing a broader range of journals and updated R&D deflators from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
  • Applied production function analysis at the individual university field level, comparing R&D inputs with outputs (papers, citations) and considering scientists/engineers as alternative inputs.

    • Main Results:

    • Updated data eliminate the apparent diminishing returns seen in earlier analyses.
    • Academic R&D input prices have risen faster than general economic deflators.
    • Production function analysis indicated diminishing returns to "own" R&D (coefficients ~0.5-0.6 for papers/citations).
    • Substituting scientists and engineers for R&D as input improved coefficients but still suggested measurement issues.
    • Accounting for university field-specific effects further reduced coefficients below unity, highlighting the importance of unmeasured factors.

    Conclusions:

    • The appearance of diminishing returns to academic R&D is largely an artifact of older data and measurement issues.
    • Significant unmeasured contributions, likely from spillovers (interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, international), are crucial for scientific output.
    • Further research is needed to quantify the impact of these spillovers on R&D productivity.