The geography of novel and atypical research

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the global distribution of innovative and atypical scientific research, highlighting persistent national differences and China's emerging role as a leader in producing novel science, especially in specific disciplines.

Contribution

It introduces a quantitative approach to measure countries' tendencies to produce novel and atypical science and identifies emerging trends, notably China's increasing contribution.

Findings

China is a major producer of novel and atypical research.

Persistent differences exist among countries in producing creative science.

Emerging countries show distinct patterns in scientific innovation over time.

Abstract

The production of knowledge has become increasingly a global endeavor. Yet, location related factors, such as local working environment and national policy designs, may continue to affect what kind of science is being pursued. Here we examine the geography of the production of creative science by country, through the lens of novelty and atypicality proposed in Uzzi et al. (2013). We quantify a country's representativeness in novel and atypical science, finding persistent differences in propensity to generate creative works, even among developed countries that are large producers in science. We further cluster countries based on how their tendency to publish novel science changes over time, identifying one group of emerging countries. Our analyses point out the recent emergence of China not only as a large producer in science but also as a leader that disproportionately produces more novel and atypical research. Discipline specific analysis indicates that China's over-production of atypical science is limited to a few disciplines, especially its most prolific ones like materials science and chemistry.