A helping hand from the government? How public research funding affects academic output in less-prestigious universities in China

Universities play an important role in any scientific and technological innovation system. Previous studies have indicated that more generous public research funding resulted in higher research output in universities. Our study, however, proposes that the positive impact of public funds is much weaker in less-prestigious universities than in prestigious ones, and that overdependence on public research funding in fact even hurts academic output quality in less-prestigious universities. We find evidence for this claim in a dataset from among Chinese 622 universities in the period 2010–2017. The negative correlation between high dependence on public research funding and academic output quality is not uniform but depends on specific conditions. It is likely to be weaker in less-prestigious research-oriented universities and in less prestigious universities dedicated to fundamental research. Moreover, we find that for them collaboration with top universities and a high proportion of senior scientists can mitigate the negative impact that high dependence on public research funding has on academic output quality and improve the efficiency in the spending of public funds. Our study contributes to the literature by highlighting differences between prestigious and less-prestigious universities in terms of how public funds affect academic output and by evaluating the impact of government involvement in scientific research at the university-level and it is the first study globally to do so.     

Assessing basic research: Some partial indicators of scientific progress in radio astronomy

As the costs of certain types of scientific research have escalated and as growth rates in overall national science budgets have declined, so the need for an explicit science policy has grown more urgent. In order to establish priorities between research groups competing for scarce funds, one of the most important pieces of information needed by science policy-makers is an assessment of those groups' recent scientific performance. This paper suggests a method for evaluating that performance.After reviewing the literature on scientific assessment, we argue that, while there are no simple measures of the contributions to scientific knowledge made by scientists, there are a number of ‘partial indicators’ — that is, variables determined partly by the magnitude of the particular contributions, and partly by ‘other factors’. If the partial indicators are to yield reliable results, then the influence of these ‘other factors’ must be minimised. This is the aim of the method of ‘converging partial indicators’ proposed in this paper. We argue that the method overcomes many of the problems encountered in previous work on scientific assessment by incorporating the following elements: (1) the indicators are applied to research groups rather than individual scientists; (2) the indicators based on citations are seen as reflecting the impact, rather than the quality or importance, of the research work; (3) a range of indicators are employed, each of which focusses on different aspects of a group's performance; (4) the indicators are applied to matched groups, comparing ‘like’ with ‘like’ as far as possible; (5) because of the imperfect or partial nature of the indicators, only in those cases where they yield convergent results can it be assumed that the influence of the ‘other factors’ has been kept relatively small (i.e. the matching of the groups has been largely successful), and that the indicators therefore provide a reasonably reliable estimate of the contribution to scientific progress made by different research groups.In an empirical study of four radio astronomy observatories, the method of converging partial indicators is tested, and several of the indicators (publications per researcher, citations per paper, numbers of highly cited papers, and peer evaluation) are found to give fairly consistent results. The results are of relevance to two questions: (a) can basic research be assessed? (b) more specifically, can significant differences in the research performance of radio astronomy centres be identified? We would maintain that the evidence presented in this paper is sufficient to justify a positive answer to both these questions, and hence to show that the method of converging partial indicators can yield information useful to science policy-makers.     

创新领导企业研发资本的产出效应研究

本文基于中美日三国创新领导企业2012年到2017年的相关数据,分别采用OLS回归和分位数回归进行扩展的Cobb–Douglas生产函数模型估计,通过企业研发资本产出效应的跨国比较,探讨中国特殊的产业发展机制。回归结果显示创新领导企业之间存在明显不同的投入产出效应;中国创新领导企业的研发资本相比物质资本具有更高的产出贡献率;在中高技术产业和中低技术产业,中国企业的研发资本具有相对较高的产出贡献率;在高技术产业,中国的大企业具有较高的研发效率;中国创新领导企业总体上正处于规模报酬递增的阶段。     

Research collaboration and research output: A longitudinal study of 65 biomedical scientists in a New Zealand university

Collaborative research has been increasingly celebrated by the science community, but the hypothesized positive relationship between research collaboration and research output is more assumed than rigorously tested. In this paper, we identify three methodological gaps in the literature: (a) hierarchical coding based on the ISI Web of Science database causes severe loss of information on local collaboration, (b) the relationship between research collaboration and research output is likely to be confounded by a common latent variable such as a scientist's ability, and (c) the lack of longitudinal analysis prevents causal inferences from being made. To address these methodological concerns, we constructed a longitudinal dataset of 65 biomedical scientists at a New Zealand university and coded collaboration variables by hand checking each of their publications in a period of 14 years. We found that at article level, both within-university collaboration and international collaboration are positively related to an article's quality and that, at scientist-year level, only international collaboration is positively related to a scientist's future research output.     

基于QCA方法的创新资源诅咒治理模式研究

创新资源是开展研发活动、获得创新产出的物质基础,但研究发现在部分情境下充沛的创新资源反而会导致创新绩效下滑,引发“资源诅咒”现象。通过收集31个省级行政区的创新资源与治理环境数据,采用定性比较分析方法对创新资源和治理环境组合对创新产出的效用进行分析,研究发现,创新产出效用较高的组合形式可以分为体系化法律支持模式、竞争性市场驱动模式和管理型政府驱动模式三种类型。研究结果为进一步优化创新资源配置、提升创新治理水平提供借鉴和参考。     

高端装备制造业创新政策评估实证研究

高端装备制造业是我国的七大战略性新兴产业之一，国家出台了一系列创新政策支持其发展。本文收集了2006-2017年间高端装备制造业的67项创新政策以及专利数量、新产品销售收入等数据，通过量化评估政策文本、构建结构方程模型等方法研究创新政策对专利数量、新产品销售收入等创新产出的影响，结果发现，第一，技术创新规划、研究开发活动、产业化活动等对专利产出、新产品销售收入等具有不同程度的推动作用；第二，我国高端装备制造业创新政策已经走出宏观勾画轮廓的初级阶段，趋向于专业化和精细化；第三，创新政策存在着对科技成果转化重视不足、核心部门联合颁发的政策较少、力度不强等问题。     

The impact of public basic research on industrial innovation: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry

While most economists believe that public scientific research fuels industry innovation and economic growth, systematic evidence supporting this relationship is surprisingly limited. In a recent study, Acemoglu and Linn (2004) identified market size as a significant driver of drug innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, but they did not find any evidence supporting science-driven innovation from publicly funded research. This paper uses new data on biomedical research investments by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to examine the contribution of public research to pharmaceutical innovation. The empirical analysis finds that both market size and NIH funded basic research have economically and statistically significant effects on the entry of new drugs with the contribution of public basic research coming in the earliest stage of pharmaceutical drug discovery. The analysis also finds a positive return to public investment in basic biomedical research.     

高校技术转移对科研产出的影响效应研究——科研资助的中介作用与调节作用

技术转移作为高校社会服务职能的重要体现形式，对高校科研活动究竟产生了何种影响是学术界关注的热点问题。本文以2008-2014年中国106所“211”及省部共建高校为样本，研究了高校技术转移对其论文产出和专利产出的影响效应，并对不同来源的科研资助（政府资助和企业资助）在高校技术转移与科研产出关系中的中介作用和调节作用分别进行了实证检验。结果表明：（1）高校技术转移对论文产出的影响不显著，而对专利产出具有显著正向影响；（2）高校技术转移对其获取政府资助和企业资助均具有显著的正向影响，政府资助和企业资助在高校技术转移与专利产出关系中发挥积极的中介作用；（3）政府资助对高校技术转移与论文产出的关系具有显著的负向调节作用，而企业资助对高校技术转移与专利产出的关系具有显著的负向调节作用。     

众创空间创新产出影响因素的协同作用研究————基于31个省市众创空间数据的模糊集定性比较分析

文章基于系统整合观构建了众创空间创新产出影响因素分析模型，并以31个省市众创空间为案例样本，应用模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA）方法，研究了众创空间创新产出影响因素的协同作用，进而探索了创新产出的孵育模式。研究结果发现：①存在四种可导致众创空间高创新产出的政府政策与平台服务的组合，并可进一步概括为“政府推动型”和“平台促进型”两类孵化模式，其中“平台促进型”是目前推进我国众创空间实现高创新产出的主要孵化模式；②各影响因素间存在复杂的替代或者/和互补关系，政府补贴和众创平台的孵化服务之间存在一定条件下的替代关系；③结合现有理论解释和典型案例分析，提出了三个有一定潜力且可待检验的关于众创空间创新产出影响因素间关系的研究命题。研究结果从系统协同视角丰富了创新产出影响因素研究的文献，并为众创空间的创新孵育实践和政策制定提供了实证指导。     

海外人才引进计划提升了我国大学科研产出吗？——以“211”工程大学化学学科为例

“海外高层次人才引进计划青年项目”是我国引进海外优秀青年人才的重要举措。本文以“211”工程大学为样本,运用双重差分法分析实施该项目与科研产出的关系。结果表明：（1）“青年项目”显著提升了大学科研产出数量和质量,对科研产出质量的提升作用更大。（2）“青年项目”对大学科研产出的促进效应呈“边际效用递减”规律,与高学术水平大学相比,“青年项目”对低学术水平大学科研产出的提升更大。（3）大学科研经费投入在“青年项目”和大学科研产出之间起部分中介作用。研究结论从组织层面丰富并拓展了“青年项目”政策研究,为青年入选者政策实施提供了理论和经验支撑。     

生物医用材料现状及发展建议

随着经济的快速发展和人民生活水平的提高,生物医用材料以每年超过20%的速度快速发展,并有望逐步成为21世纪世界经济的支柱产业之一。具有生物活性和降解性的第三代生物医用材料有助于解决大段组织与器官缺损的临床难题,是未来医用材料研究发展的方向。因此,为了寻找和开发新型生物医用材料,新的化学合成和表面改性方法以及材料对细胞和组织再生的作用机制成为生物医用材料研究的热点。近年来,我国在生物医用材料基础研究方面已经取得了一些新进展,但如何进一步提高研究水平,加速医用材料产业化是关系到我国生物医用材料和医疗器械产业发展亟待解决的关键问题。     

Policy learning and innovation theory: an interactive and co-evolving process

This paper explores links between the development of innovation theory since the late 1970s, and the evolution of innovation policy ideas, primarily in the 1990s. The argument is that there is a close connection between theory and policy, so that theory and policy learning can be seen as an integrated, co-evolving and interactive process. We analyse the theory-policy learning link in terms of two phases. We suggest that the complex economic crisis of the 1970s created an opening for rival analyses of events. During the 1980s, the development of evolutionary theories (pioneered by Nelson and Winter) and of empirically-based theories of the innovation process (pioneered by Nathan Rosenberg) created a framework in which policy agencies could consider heterodox ideas concerning objectives and instruments of public policy. By the early 1990s policy-makers, particularly in Europe, came to see RTD and innovation policies not just as important arenas of action in themselves, but as instruments towards more wide ranging policy objectives. The policy agencies involved, though hierarchical, were characterised by relatively open structures that permitted a degree of intellectual diversity: so organisations like the OECD and the European Commission played a central role, whereas the World Bank, for example, did not. Increasing policy interest stimulated a second phase of research in the 1990s, sponsored both nationally and by various EU programmes, in which expanding the innovation-oriented knowledge base became a significant objective for policy-makers. The paper argues that the theory-policy link has been central to the intellectual development of this field, which would have been impossible within the constraints of existing disciplinary structures and university funding systems. At the same time the analytical achievements have permitted a wide expansion in the conceptualization of policy targets and in the design of instruments available to policy-makers. In a sense, this is itself an evolutionary story: of a crisis and a conjunctural niche that permitted the creation and (so far) survival of a set of diverse and certainly non-conventional ideas.     

Commercializing the laboratory: Faculty patenting and the open science environment

This paper investigates the relationship between patenting and publication of research results by university faculty members. Our study adds to the limited evidence on this topic with an empirical investigation based on a panel data set for a broad sample of university researchers. Results suggest that publication and patenting are complementary, not substitute, activities for faculty members. This is not consistent with recent concerns regarding deleterious effects of patenting on the research output of faculty members. Average citations to publications, however, appear to decline for repeat patenters, suggesting either a decrease in quality or restrictions on use associated in patent protection.     

上海市研发产业评价指标体系设计与实证分析

结合上海市研发产业的实际情况,建立包括投入类评价指标、产出类评价指标、辅助类评价指标等三大类共15个指标的评价指标体系.通过调研,获得浦东新区247家研发企业的相关数据,并应用评价指标体系对浦东新区研发产业以及生物医药行业的研发产业进行了评价.研究表明,论文建立的评价指标体系可以对整个研发产业进行评价分析,也可以对具体行业的研发产业进行评价分析.根据评价分析,可以对具体行业的研发产业进行比较.     

Are ideas being fished out?

This paper examines whether declining research productivity can be explained by fishing out—is the production of new knowledge decreasing in the level of existing knowledge? We estimate the knowledge production function for US firms and find instead that knowledge production is increasing in the knowledge stock. This is reinforced by the observations that maximum research productivity across firms is increasing over time, and that research productivity year effects continue to exhibit decline after modeling contributions from knowledge and research labor. Given that fishing out appears unable to explain the decline in research productivity, we offer preliminary evidence of contingent factors that might contribute to the decline.     

University research funding and publication performance—An international comparison

In current science policies, competition and output incentives are emphasized as a means of making university systems efficient and productive. By comparing eight countries, this article analyzes how funding environments of university research vary across countries and whether more competitive funding systems are more efficient in producing scientific publications. The article shows that there are significant differences in the competitiveness of funding systems, but no straightforward connection between financial incentives and the efficiency of university systems exists. Our results provoke questions about whether financial incentives boost publication productivity, and whether policy-makers should place greater emphasis on other factors relevant to high productivity.     

金融支持、政府与企业投入对科技创新的贡献研究

本文基于面板数据,重点分析了科研经费投入结构对国家创新的贡献。结果表明,政府和企业科技投入对科研产出的具有显著的贡献,政府科技投入对科技创新的贡献最大,企业科技投入次之,研发人员全时当量对科技创新的贡献最低,银行科技贷款对科研创新的贡献不显著,其占科技投入的比例也在逐年下降,深层次暴露了科技金融体系中存在的一些问题。     

A bibliometric analysis of pharmaceutical research

This study examines pharmaceutical research from a bibliometric perspective. It finds that there are bibliometric correlates of successful pharmaceutical research, in particular, the number and proportion of star (highly cited) clinical medical articles. The research also reveals that pharmaceutical company research reported in basic biomedical research journals is very highly cited, on a par with NIH supported medical school research. The policy implications of this are discussed. In addition, the pharmaceutical output (approved new drugs)/input (R&D budget) measures developed permit a ranking and characterization of the research performance of 24 major pharmaceutical companies.     

政策效应是否等同?——基于所有制的比较分析

政府资助是企业创新活动的重要资金来源，不同所有制的企业在政府资助下的绩效是否表现出差异性？本文建立回归函数与向量自回归（VAR）模型，研究政府直接资助和税收优惠两种资助方式对不同所有制企业创新产出的影响。结果发现，政府直接资助对我国内陆企业的创新产出未表现出明显促进作用；国有企业的创新产出与政府直接资助和税收优惠的关系不显著；私营企业等的创新产出对税收优惠表现出更大的响应。