The aim of this paper is to investigate theoretically and empirically the impact of research collaborations on the scientific performance of Italian academic institutions. Data are derived from the international Scopus and Web of Science databases. We consider both quantity (the number of publications made in collaboration) and quality indicators from different databases (using indexes such as IF5Y (5-year impact factor of the journal, Web of Science), SJR (SCImago Journal Rank-key integral indicator of the quality of journals, Scopus), IPP (Impact per Publication, Scopus), AIS (Article Influence Scores, Web of Science), H-index (Google Scholar Hirsch-index metric) to evaluate the Italian case of scientific research. To this end, we develop a theoretical and empirical model to consider endogeneity of explanatory variables, the generalized method of moment estimation. The results suggest that international collaborations have a higher impact on the research quality index in Italy.

The aim of this article is to investigate whether there are important differences between the evaluation procedures adopted by the Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research in the evaluation of scientific research. The two procedures, one for the periodic exercise of the evaluation of scientific research activities and the other to verify the possession of the requisites necessary to be employed as a professor at a university, have different purposes and have been implemented with different evaluation approaches. Analysing sample data extracted from the well-known Scopus database, we replicate the assessment methodologies, obtaining some interesting results. The two procedures identify the same departments of excellence and draw similar rankings. The two evaluation criteria are not so far apart in the identification of the departments of excellence. Through the use of coloured maps, we then identify that the distribution of the departments of excellence in the national territory favours the northern regions.

In the last ten years, the assessment of scientific research has been useful for two main reasons: first to provide researchers with a shared methodology able to assess scientific productions and second to enable governments to locate investments where they yield the best results. The aim of this article is to investigate the methodology used to assess academic performance in Italy, focusing on the one hand on its application to economic sciences and on the other on the way in which it influences the distribution of the budget and the future performance of an institution. In this regard, an analysis of sample data extracted from the well-known Scopus database raises doubts about the advisability of linking the distribution of funds to the evaluation of the quality of the research.