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Bigger Than You Thought: China's Contribution to Scientific Publications and Its Impact on the Global Economy

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  • Qingnan Xie
  • Richard B. Freeman

Abstract

China's advance to the forefront of scientific research is one of the 21st century's most surprising developments, with implications for a world where knowledge is arguably “the one ring that rules them all.” This paper provides new estimates of China's contribution to global science that far exceed estimates based on the proportion of papers with Chinese addresses in databases of international journals. Address‐based measures ignore articles written by Chinese researchers with non‐Chinese addresses and articles in Chinese language journals not indexed in those databases. Taking account of these contributions, we attribute 36 percent of 2016 global scientific articles to China. Taking account of increased citations to Chinese‐addressed articles relative to the global average as well, we attribute 37 percent of global citations to scientific articles published in 2013 to China. With shares of articles and citations more than twice its share of global population or GDP, China has achieved a comparative advantage in knowledge that has implications for the division of labor and trade among countries and for the direction of research and of technological and economic development worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • Qingnan Xie & Richard B. Freeman, 2019. "Bigger Than You Thought: China's Contribution to Scientific Publications and Its Impact on the Global Economy," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 27(1), pages 1-27, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:chinae:v:27:y:2019:i:1:p:1-27
    DOI: 10.1111/cwe.12265
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Qingnan Xie & Richard B. Freeman, 2020. "The Contribution of Chinese Diaspora Researchers to Global Science and China's Catching Up in Scientific Research," NBER Working Papers 27169, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Shumin Qiu & Claudia Steinwender & Pierre Azoulay, 2022. "Who Stands on the Shoulders of Chinese (Scientific) Giants? Evidence from Chemistry," NBER Working Papers 30772, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. John P. A. Ioannidis & Thomas A. Collins & Jeroen Baas, 2024. "Evolving patterns of extreme publishing behavior across science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(9), pages 5783-5796, September.
    4. Rubini, Lauretta & Pollio, Chiara & Barbieri, Elisa & Cattaruzzo, Sebastiano, 2024. "Changing structures in transnational research networks: An analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on China's scientific collaborations," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 281-297.
    5. Olushina Olawale Awe & Dennis Makafui Dogbey & Ronel Sewpaul & Derrick Sekgala & Natisha Dukhi, 2021. "Anaemia in Children and Adolescents: A Bibliometric Analysis of BRICS Countries (1990–2020)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-13, May.

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