Publish or impoverish: An investigation of the monetary reward system of science in China (1999-2016)

TL;DR

This paper investigates the evolution and landscape of China's cash-per-publication reward system in universities from 1999 to 2016, highlighting its increasing monetary incentives and policy trends.

Contribution

It provides the first systematic analysis of China's cash-per-publication reward policy across multiple universities over nearly two decades.

Findings

Cash rewards range from 30 to 165,000 USD per publication.

Average reward amounts have increased over the past decade.

The policy landscape has evolved significantly since the late 1990s.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present the landscape of the cash-per-publication reward policy in China and reveal its trend since the late 1990s. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on the analysis of 168 university documents regarding the cash-per-publication reward policy at 100 Chinese universities. Findings: Chinese universities offer cash rewards from 30 to 165,000 USD for papers published in journals indexed by Web of Science (WoS), and the average reward amount has been increasing for the past 10 years. Originality/value: The cash-per-publication reward policy in China has never been systematically studied and investigated before except for in some case studies. This is the first paper that reveals the landscape of the cash-per-publication reward policy in China.