IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/jecper/v30y2016i3p235-48.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Skeptical View of the National Science Foundation's Role in Economic Research

Author

Listed:
  • Tyler Cowen
  • Alex Tabarrok

Abstract

We can imagine a plausible case for government support of science based on traditional economic reasons of externalities and public goods. Yet when it comes to government support of grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for economic research, our sense is that many economists avoid critical questions, skimp on analysis, and move straight to advocacy. In this essay, we take a more skeptical attitude toward the efforts of the NSF to subsidize economic research. We offer two main sets of arguments. First, a key question is not whether NSF funding is justified relative to laissez-faire, but rather, what is the marginal value of NSF funding given already existing government and nongovernment support for economic research? Second, we consider whether NSF funding might more productively be shifted in various directions that remain within the legal and traditional purview of the NSF. Such alternative focuses might include data availability, prizes rather than grants, broader dissemination of economic insights, and more. Given these critiques, we suggest some possible ways in which the pattern of NSF funding, and the arguments for such funding, might be improved.

Suggested Citation

  • Tyler Cowen & Alex Tabarrok, 2016. "A Skeptical View of the National Science Foundation's Role in Economic Research," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 235-248, Summer.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:30:y:2016:i:3:p:235-48
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.30.3.235
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.30.3.235
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/attachments?retrieve=Pn68gwJ3ihyV7d2pIruX4wj00eRSitIy
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/attachments?retrieve=a6zDPay_sZ5FEHNWTwnONoOeOKjaoF2S
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dokko, Jane K., 2009. "Does the NEA Crowd Out Private Charitable Contributions to the Arts?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 62(1), pages 57-75, March.
    2. Glenn Ellison, 2013. "How Does the Market Use Citation Data? The Hirsch Index in Economics," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 63-90, July.
    3. Richard Clarida & Jordi Galí & Mark Gertler, 2000. "Monetary Policy Rules and Macroeconomic Stability: Evidence and Some Theory," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(1), pages 147-180.
    4. Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2009. "Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market," Working Papers 1178, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    5. Richard B. Freeman, 2005. "Supporting “The Best And Brightest†In Science And Engineering: NSF Graduate Research Fellowships," Working Papers id:220, eSocialSciences.
    6. Wang, Jian & Veugelers, Reinhilde & Stephan, Paula, 2017. "Bias against novelty in science: A cautionary tale for users of bibliometric indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1416-1436.
    7. Dewald, William G & Thursby, Jerry G & Anderson, Richard G, 1986. "Replication in Empirical Economics: The Journal of Money, Credit and Banking Project," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 587-603, September.
    8. Anna, Petrenko, 2016. "Мaркування готової продукції як складова частина інформаційного забезпечення маркетингової діяльності підприємств овочепродуктового підкомплексу," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 2(01), March.
    9. Robert M. Feinberg & Gregory N. Price, 2004. "The Funding of Economics Research: Does Social Capital Matter for Success at the National Science Foundation?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 245-252, February.
    10. Cecil E. Bohanon & John B. Horowitz & James E. McClure, 2014. "Saying Too Little, Too Late: Public Finance Textbooks and the Excess Burdens of Taxation," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 11(3), pages 277-296, September.
    11. Christian Zimmermann, 2015. "On the Need for a Replication Journal," Working Papers 2015-16, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    12. Olivier J Blanchard & Giovanni Dell'Ariccia & Paolo Mauro, 2013. "Rethinking Macro Policy II; Getting Granular," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 13/03, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Hungerman, Daniel M., 2005. "Are church and state substitutes? Evidence from the 1996 welfare reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(11-12), pages 2245-2267, December.
    14. Richard B. Freeman & Tanwin Chang & Hanley Chiang, 2009. "Supporting "The Best and Brightest" in Science and Engineering: NSF Graduate Research Fellowships," NBER Chapters, in: Science and Engineering Careers in the United States: An Analysis of Markets and Employment, pages 19-57, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2013. "Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(S1), pages 173-202.
    16. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2013. "Six Decades of Top Economics Publishing: Who and How?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(1), pages 162-172, March.
    17. repec:wly:soecon:v:82:2:y:2015:p:430-452 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Roger G. Noll & William P. Rogerson, "undated". "The Economics of University Indirect Cost Reimbursement in Federal Research Grants," Working Papers 97039, Stanford University, Department of Economics.
    19. Douglas J. Besharov & Heidi Williams, 2012. "Innovation Inducement Prizes: Connecting Research to Policy," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 752-776, June.
    20. Andrew C. Chang & Phillip Li, 2015. "Is Economics Research Replicable? Sixty Published Papers from Thirteen Journals Say \"Usually Not\"," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2015-83, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    21. Mark Maier & W. Edward Chi, 2016. "Community college economics instruction: Results from a National Science Foundation Project," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 84-88, January.
    22. Michael J. Hilmer & Michael R. Ransom & Christiana E. Hilmer, 2015. "Fame and the fortune of academic economists: How the market rewards influential research in economics," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 430-452, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yin, Zhifeng & Liang, Zheng & Zhi, Qiang, 2018. "Does the concentration of scientific research funding in institutions promote knowledge output?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 1146-1159.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2018. "Citations in Economics: Measurement, Uses, and Impacts," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(1), pages 115-156, March.
    2. Allan Drazen & Anna Dreber & Erkut Y. Ozbay & Erik Snowberg, 2019. "A Journal-Based Replication of "Being Chosen to Lead"," CESifo Working Paper Series 7942, CESifo.
    3. Allison Dwyer Emory, 2019. "Unintended Consequences: Protective State Policies and the Employment of Fathers with Criminal Records," Working Papers wp19-04-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    4. Andres Marroquin & Edward J. Timmons, 2024. "Economic values, support of labor unions, and salience of occupational licensing in the European Union," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 44(4), pages 1338-1347.
    5. Sauro Mocetti & Giacomo Roma & Enrico Rubolino, 2022. "Knocking on Parents’ Doors: Regulation and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(2), pages 525-554.
    6. Bredtmann, Julia & Otten, Sebastian & Rammert, Timo, 2024. "The effect of occupational deregulation on wage premiums," Ruhr Economic Papers 1134, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Patrick Bennett, 2021. "The Work-To-School Transition: Job Displacement and Skill Upgrading among Young High School Dropouts," CESifo Working Paper Series 9417, CESifo.
    8. Andrea Cintolesi & Sauro Mocetti & Giacomo Roma, 2024. "Productivity and entry regulation: evidence from the universe of firms," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1455, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    9. Bamieh, Omar & Cintolesi, Andrea, 2021. "Intergenerational transmission in regulated professions and the role of familism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 857-879.
    10. Nick Huntington‐Klein & Andreu Arenas & Emily Beam & Marco Bertoni & Jeffrey R. Bloem & Pralhad Burli & Naibin Chen & Paul Grieco & Godwin Ekpe & Todd Pugatch & Martin Saavedra & Yaniv Stopnitzky, 2021. "The influence of hidden researcher decisions in applied microeconomics," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 944-960, July.
    11. Raitano, Michele & Vona, Francesco, 2021. "Nepotism vs. Specific Skills: The effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental background of Italian lawyers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 489-505.
    12. Jing Cai & Morris M. Kleiner, 2016. "The Labor Market Consequences of Regulating Similar Occupations: The Licensing of Occupational and Physical Therapists," Upjohn Working Papers 16-259, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    13. Robert I. Lerman, 2012. "Can the United States Expand Apprenticeship? Lessons from Experience," Working Papers 2012-18, American University, Department of Economics.
    14. Petrik Runst, 2018. "The effect of occupational licensing deregulation on migrants in the German skilled crafts sector," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 555-589, June.
    15. D. Mark Anderson & Ryan Brown & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Daniel I. Rees, 2016. "The Effect of Occupational Licensing on Consumer Welfare: Early Midwifery Laws and Maternal Mortality," NBER Working Papers 22456, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. John M. Barrios, 2022. "Occupational Licensing and Accountant Quality: Evidence from the 150‐Hour Rule," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 3-43, March.
    17. Hensel, Przemysław G., 2019. "Supporting replication research in management journals: Qualitative analysis of editorials published between 1970 and 2015," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 45-57.
    18. Pizzola, Brandon & Tabarrok, Alexander, 2017. "Occupational licensing causes a wage premium: Evidence from a natural experiment in Colorado’s funeral services industry," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 50-59.
    19. Lucas C. Coffman & Muriel Niederle & Alistair J. Wilson, 2017. "A Proposal to Organize and Promote Replications," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 41-45, May.
    20. Jonathan B. Berk & Jules H. Van Binsbergen, 2022. "Regulation of Charlatans in High‐Skill Professions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(2), pages 1219-1258, April.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:30:y:2016:i:3:p:235-48. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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 CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc 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 RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.