Measuring the Cost-Efficiency of Basic Research Investment: Input-Output Approaches

Abstract

Restricted research budgets, expanding claims for resources, and steeply escalating costs have increased the demand for methods that establish or predict the efficiency or productivity of expenditures on basic research. Iwine and Mnrtin (I-M) have recently advocated head-to-head efficiency comparisons of research performers using publications and citations. This paper (1) criticizes the I-M approach from the perspective of economics and policy analysis; (2) illustrates the natural production function extension of the I-M approach; (3) demonstrates, by worked out examples, the feasibility of such an extension along with its pitfalls; and (4) argues that combined econometric-bibliometric modeling can be used to improve research allocations with only modest increases in agency "transaction" costs. The paper presents a prototype efficiency analysis using recent NSF data for the behavioral and neural sciences.

The impact of research grant funding on scientific productivity

“…Other studies that examine the funding-output link at the level of the individual researcher tend to find small positive effects (Arora and Gambardella, 2005; Averch, 1987, 1989). However, these studies recognize the potential for selection bias, which would lead them to overstate the true impact of grant receipt.…”

The Impact of Research Grant Funding on Scientific Productivity

“…Other studies that examine the funding-output link at the level of the individual researcher tend to find small positive effects (Arora and Gambardella, 2005;Averch, 1987Averch, , 1989. However, these studies recognize the potential for selection bias, which would lead them to overstate the true impact of grant receipt.…”

The Impact of Government Support of Graduate Schools on the Research Productivity of Professors and Students

“…He finds only a very modest relationship between citations per dollar and the characteristics of the principal investigators' affiliated institutions, although their characteristics do have some impact on citations per dollar. By contrast, for behavioral and neural sciences, Averch (1987) finds that even principal investigators' characteristics are unrelated to citations per dollar. Aroma and Garmbrardelia (2005) find that NSF funding has only a modest effect on publication output, using dataset of 1473 applications for NSF in economics during [1985][1986][1987][1988][1989][1990].…”