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Saving Soviet Science: The Impact of Grants When Government R&D Funding Disappears †

Saving Soviet Science: The Impact of Grants When Government R&D Funding Disappears † Abstract I estimate the impact of a historic grant program, funded by George Soros, that provided grants to over 28,000 Soviet scientists shortly after the end of the USSR. Exploiting a discontinuity in the grant eligibility formula, I show that the grants more than doubled publications on the margin, significantly induced scientists to remain in the science sector, and had long-lasting impacts. While existing evidence shows negligible impacts of scientific grants, I show that funding for science can have high marginal returns when funding levels are low relative to the stock of human capital. (JEL H54, H81, I23, J44, O32, O38, P35 ) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Economic Journal: Applied Economics American Economic Association

Saving Soviet Science: The Impact of Grants When Government R&D Funding Disappears †

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Publisher
American Economic Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by the American Economic Association
Subject
Articles
ISSN
1945-7790
eISSN
1945-7790
DOI
10.1257/app.20160180
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract I estimate the impact of a historic grant program, funded by George Soros, that provided grants to over 28,000 Soviet scientists shortly after the end of the USSR. Exploiting a discontinuity in the grant eligibility formula, I show that the grants more than doubled publications on the margin, significantly induced scientists to remain in the science sector, and had long-lasting impacts. While existing evidence shows negligible impacts of scientific grants, I show that funding for science can have high marginal returns when funding levels are low relative to the stock of human capital. (JEL H54, H81, I23, J44, O32, O38, P35 )

Journal

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics – American Economic Association

Published: Apr 1, 2017

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