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Frontier knowledge and scientific production : evidence from the collapse of international science
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Iaria, Alessandro, Schwarz, Carlo and Waldinger, Fabian (2018) Frontier knowledge and scientific production : evidence from the collapse of international science. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133 (2). pp. 927-991. doi:10.1093/qje/qjx046 ISSN 0033-5533.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjx046
Abstract
We show that World War I and the subsequent boycott against Central scientists severely interrupted international scientific cooperation. After 1914, citations to recent research from abroad decreased and paper titles became less similar (evaluated by latent semantic analysis), suggesting a reduction in international knowledge flows. Reduced international scientific cooperation led to a decline in the production of basic science and its application in new technology. Specifically, we compare productivity changes for scientists who relied on frontier research from abroad, to changes for scientists who relied on frontier research from home. After 1914, scientists who relied on frontier research from abroad published fewer papers in top scientific journals, produced less Nobel Prize–nominated research, introduced fewer novel scientific words, and introduced fewer novel words that appeared in the text of subsequent patent grants. The productivity of scientists who relied on top 1% research declined twice as much as the productivity of scientists who relied on top 3% research. Furthermore, highly prolific scientists experienced the starkest absolute productivity declines. This suggests that access to the very best research is key for scientific and technological progress.
Item Type: | Journal Article | |||||||||
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Subjects: | D History General and Old World > D History (General) H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions J Political Science > JZ International relations Q Science > Q Science (General) T Technology > T Technology (General) |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics | |||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Science -- International cooperation -- History -- 20th century, Research -- International cooperation -- History -- 20th century, Technology -- International cooperation, World War, 1914-1918 -- Science, World War, 1914-1918 -- Technology, Information networks -- Economic aspects | |||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | The Quarterly Journal of Economics | |||||||||
Publisher: | Oxford University Press | |||||||||
ISSN: | 0033-5533 | |||||||||
Official Date: | May 2018 | |||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 133 | |||||||||
Number: | 2 | |||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 927-991 | |||||||||
DOI: | 10.1093/qje/qjx046 | |||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | |||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | |||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | |||||||||
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