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Standing on Academic Shoulders: Measuring Scientific Influence in Universities

In: Contributions in Memory of Zvi Griliches

Author

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  • James D. Adams
  • J. Roger Clemmons
  • Paula E. Stephan

Abstract

This article measures scientific influence by means of citations to academic papers. The data source is the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI); the scientific institutions included are the top 110 U.S. research universities; the 12 main fields that classify the data cover nearly all of science; and the time period is 1981-1999. Altogether the database includes 2.4 million papers and 18.8 million citations. Thus the evidence underlying our findings accounts for much of the basic research conducted in the United States during the last quarter of the 20th century. This research in turn contributes a significant part of knowledge production in the U.S. during the same period. The citation measure used is the citation probability, which equals actual citations divided by potential citations, and captures average utilization of cited literature by individual citing articles. The mean citation probability within fields is on the order of 10-5. Cross-field citation probabilities are one-tenth to one-hundredth as large, or 10-6 to 10-7. Citations between pairs of citing and cited fields are significant in less than one-fourth of the possible cases. It follows that citations are largely bounded by field, with corresponding implications for the limits of scientific influence. Cross-field citation probabilities appear to be symmetric for mutually citing fields. Scientific influence is asymmetric within fields, and occurs primarily from top institutions to those less highly ranked. Still, there is significant reverse influence on higher-ranked schools. We also find that top institutions are more often cited by peer institutions than lower-ranked institutions are cited by their peers. Overall the results suggest that knowledge spillovers in basic science research are important, but are circumscribed by field and by intrinsic relevance. Perhaps the most important implication of the results are the limits that they seem to impose on the returns to scale in the knowledge pro
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Suggested Citation

  • James D. Adams & J. Roger Clemmons & Paula E. Stephan, 2010. "Standing on Academic Shoulders: Measuring Scientific Influence in Universities," NBER Chapters, in: Contributions in Memory of Zvi Griliches, pages 61-90, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:12228
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Manuel Trajtenberg, 1990. "A Penny for Your Quotes: Patent Citations and the Value of Innovations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(1), pages 172-187, Spring.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. David Popp, 2015. "Using Scientific Publications to Evaluate Government R&D Spending: The Case of Energy," CESifo Working Paper Series 5442, CESifo.
    2. Andrei Dubovik & Clemens Fiedler & Alexei Parakhonyak, 2022. "Temporal Patterns in Economics Research," CPB Discussion Paper 440, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    3. Hans Lööf & Anders Broström, 2008. "Does knowledge diffusion between university and industry increase innovativeness?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 73-90, February.
    4. Dean Hendrix, 2009. "Institutional self-citation rates: A three year study of universities in the United States," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 81(2), pages 321-331, November.
    5. James Adams & J. Roger Clemmons, 2008. "Science And Industry: Tracing The Flow Of Basic Research Through Manufacturing And Trade," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(5), pages 473-495.
    6. David Popp, 2012. "The Role of Technological Change in Green Growth," NBER Working Papers 18506, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. David Popp, 2015. "Using Scientific Publications to Evaluate Government R&D Spending: The Case of Energy," NBER Working Papers 21415, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Popp, David, 2012. "The role of technological change in green growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6239, The World Bank.
    9. Daniel Teodorescu & Tudorel Andrei, 2014. "An examination of “citation circles” for social sciences journals in Eastern European countries," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(2), pages 209-231, May.
    10. Shengbo Liu & Xiaoting Luo & Miaomiao Liu, 2023. "Was Chinese “Double-First Class” Construction Policy Influential? Analysis Using Propensity Score Matching," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-13, April.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L30 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - General
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

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