Scientific Teams and Institution Collaborations: Evidence from U.S. Universities, 1981-1999
Abstract
This paper explores recent trends in the size of scientific teams and in institutional collaborations. The data derive from 2.4 million scientific papers written in 110 leading U.S. research universities over the period 1981-1999. We measure team size by the number of authors on a scientific paper. Using this measure we find that team size increases by 50 percent over the 19-year period. We supplement team size with measures of domestic and foreign institutional collaborations, which capture the geographic dispersion of team workers. The time series evidence suggests that the trend towards larger and more dispersed teams accelerates at the start of the 1990s. This acceleration suggests a sudden decline in the cost of collaboration, perhaps due to improvements in telecommunications. Using a panel of top university departments we find that private universities and departments whose scientists have earned prestigious awards participate in larger teams, as do departments that have larger amounts of federal funding. Placement of former graduate students is a key determinant of institutional collaborations, especially collaborations with firms and foreign scientific institutions. Finally, the evidence indicates that scientific influence increases with team size and institutional collaborations. Since increasing team size implies an increase in the division of labor, these results suggest that scientific productivity increases with the scientific division of labor.Download Info
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.Bibliographic Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 10640.Length:
Date of creation: Jul 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10640
Note: PR
Contact details of provider:
Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Phone: 617-868-3900
Email:
Web page: http://www.nber.org
More information through EDIRC
Related research
Keywords:Other versions of this item:
- Adams, James D. & Black, Grant C. & Clemmons, J. Roger & Stephan, Paula E., 2005. "Scientific teams and institutional collaborations: Evidence from U.S. universities, 1981-1999," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 259-285, April.
- L3 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise
- O3 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2004-08-31 (All new papers)
- NEP-INO-2004-08-31 (Innovation)
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Ronald G. Ehrenberg, 2002. "Studying Ourselves: The Academic Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 8965, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Becker, G.S. & Murphy, K.M., 1991.
"The Division of Labor, Coordination Costs, and Knowledge,"
University of Chicago - Economics Research Center
92-5, Chicago - Economics Research Center.
- Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy, 1994. "The Division of Labor, Coordination Costs, and Knowledge," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education (3rd Edition), pages 299-322 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Becker, Gary S & Murphy, Kevin M, 1992. "The Division of Labor, Coordination Costs, and Knowledge," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(4), pages 1137-60, November.
- Gary S. Murphy Becker & Kevin M., 1992. "The Division of Labor, Coordination Costs, and Knowledge," University of Chicago - George G. Stigler Center for Study of Economy and State 79, Chicago - Center for Study of Economy and State.
- Sauer, Raymond D, 1988. "Estimates of the Returns to Quality and Coauthorship in Economic Academia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(4), pages 855-66, August.
- Diana Hicks & J Sylvan Katz, 1996. "Science policy for a highly collaborative science system," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 39-44, February.
- James D. Adams, 2001.
"Comparative Localization of Academic and Industrial Spillovers,"
NBER Working Papers
8292, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- James D. Adams, 2002. "Comparative localization of academic and industrial spillovers," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(3), pages 253-278, July.
- Kandel, Eugene & Lazear, Edward P, 1992.
"Peer Pressure and Partnerships,"
Journal of Political Economy,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(4), pages 801-17, August.
- Kandel, E. & Lazear, E.P., 1989. "Peer Pressure And Partnership," Working Papers e-89-5, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
- Kandel, E. & Lazear, E.P., 1990. "Peer Pressure and Partnerships," Papers 90-07, Rochester, Business - Managerial Economics Research Center.
- Bengt Holmstrom, 1981.
"Moral Hazard in Teams,"
Discussion Papers
471, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
- Bengt Holmstrom, 1982. "Moral Hazard in Teams," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(2), pages 324-340, Autumn.
- Romer, Paul M, 1990.
"Endogenous Technological Change,"
Journal of Political Economy,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages S71-102, October.
- Paul Romer, 1991. "Endogenous Technological Change," NBER Working Papers 3210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- James D.ADAMS & Zvi GRILICHES, 1998.
"Research Productivity in a System of Universities,"
Annales d'Economie et de Statistique,
ENSAE, issue 49-50, pages 127-162.
- James D. Adams & Zvi Griliches, 1996. "Research Productivity in a System of Universities," NBER Working Papers 5833, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Ichniowski, Casey & Shaw, Kathryn & Prennushi, Giovanna, 1997. "The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity: A Study of Steel Finishing Lines," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 291-313, June.
- Lynne G. Zucker & Michael R. Darby & Jeff S. Armstrong, 2003.
"Commercializing knowledge: university science, knowledge capture and firm performance in biotechnology,"
Proceedings,
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, issue Sep, pages 149-170.
- Lynne G. Zucker & Michael R. Darby & Jeff S. Armstrong, 2001. "Commercializing Knowledge: University Science, Knowledge Capture, and Firm Performance in Biotechnology," NBER Working Papers 8499, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Sherwin Rosen, 1982. "Authority, Control, and the Distribution of Earnings," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(2), pages 311-323, Autumn.
- Dixit, Avinash K., 1990. "Optimization in Economic Theory," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780198772101, July.
- Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages S33-58, January.
- Paul M Romer, 1999. "Endogenous Technological Change," Levine's Working Paper Archive 2135, David K. Levine.
- Eli M. Noam, 2001. "Interconnecting the Network of Networks," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262140721.
- Arora, Ashish & Gambardella, Alfonso, 1990. "Complementarity and External Linkages: The Strategies of the Large Firms in Biotechnology," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 361-79, June.
- Rosen, Sherwin, 1981. "The Economics of Superstars," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 845-58, December.
Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Winkler Anne E. & Glanzel Wolfang & Levin Sharon & Stephan Paula, 2011.
"The Diffusion of Information Technology and the Increased Propensity of Teams to Transcend Institutional and National Borders,"
Dipartimento di Economia "S. Cognetti de Martiis" LEI & BRICK - Laboratorio di economia dell'innovazione "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio Carlo
201110, University of Turin.
- Winkler, A.E. & Glänzel, Wolfgang & Levin, Sh. & Stephan, P., 2011. "The diffusion of information technology and the increased propensity of teams to transcend institutional and national borders," Open Access publications from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven urn:hdl:123456789/327127, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
- Winkler, Anne E. & Glänzel, Wolfgang & Levin, Sharon & Stephan, Paula, 2011. "The Diffusion of Information Technology and the Increased Propensity of Teams to Transcend Institutional and National Borders," IZA Discussion Papers 5857, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Carolin Haeussler & Lin Jiang & Jerry Thursby & Marie C. Thursby, 2009. "Specific and General Information Sharing Among Academic Scientists," NBER Working Papers 15315, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Grant C. Black & Paula E. Stephan, 2010. "The Economics of University Science and the Role of Foreign Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars," NBER Chapters, in: American Universities in a Global Market, pages 129-161 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Paula E. Stephan, 2010. "The “I’s” Have It: Immigration and Innovation, the Perspective from Academe," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 10, pages 83-127 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Fabian Waldinger, 2009.
"Peer Effects in Science - Evidence from the Dismissal of Scientists in Nazi Germany,"
CEP Discussion Papers
dp0910, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
- Fabian Waldinger, 2012. "Peer Effects in Science: Evidence from the Dismissal of Scientists in Nazi Germany," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 79(2), pages 838-861.
- Waverly W. Ding & Sharon G. Levin & Paula E. Stephan & Anne E. Winkler, 2009. "The Impact of Information Technology on Scientists' Productivity, Quality and Collaboration Patterns," NBER Working Papers 15285, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Fabrizio, Kira R. & Di Minin, Alberto, 2008. "Commercializing the laboratory: Faculty patenting and the open science environment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 914-931, June.
- Chris Forman & Nicolas van Zeebroeck, 2012.
"From Wires to Partners: How the Internet Has Fostered R&D Collaborations Within Firms,"
Management Science,
INFORMS, vol. 58(8), pages 1549-1568, August.
- Chris CM Forman & Nicolas van Zeebroeck, 2012. "From wires to partners: How the Internet has fostered R&D collaborations within firms," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/105990, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
- Uwe Cantner & Bastian Rake, 2011. "International Research Networks in Pharmaceuticals: Structure and Dynamics," Jena Economic Research Papers 2011-055, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics.
- Tatiana Plotnikova & Bastian Rake, 2011. "Collaboration in pharmaceutical research: Exploration of country-level determinants," Jena Economic Research Papers 2011-026, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics.
Lists
This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.Statistics
Access and download statisticsCorrections
When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10640For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ().
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.
If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

