Macro-level Indicators of the Relations between Research Funding and Research Output

TL;DR

This paper analyzes macro-level indicators linking national research funding to research output, highlighting efficiency differences, historical influences, and the limitations of strategic funding targets.

Contribution

It provides a scientometric perspective on national research funding efficiency, incorporating global trends, disciplinary differences, and the impact of historical and institutional factors.

Findings

Countries vary in research funding efficiency.

A price per paper can be estimated from funding data.

Strategic R&D spending targets may be unrealistic.

Abstract

In response to the call for a science of science policy, we discuss the contribution of indicators at the macro-level of nations from a scientometric perspective. In addition to global trends such as the rise of China, one can relate percentages of world share of publications to government expenditure in academic research. The marginal costs of improving one's share are increasing over time. Countries differ considerably in terms of the efficiency of turning (financial) input into bibliometrically measurable output. Both funding schemes and disciplinary portfolios differ among countries. A price per paper can nevertheless be estimated. The percentages of GDP spent on academic research in different nations are significantly correlated to historical contingencies such as the percentage of researchers in the population. The institutional dynamics make strategic objectives such as the Lisbon objective of the EU--that is, spending 3% of GDP for R&D in 2010--unrealistic.