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

  • Ina Ganguli
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 9, no. 2, April 2017
(pp. 165-201)
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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.

Citation

Ganguli, Ina. 2017. "Saving Soviet Science: The Impact of Grants When Government R&D Funding Disappears." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9 (2): 165-201. DOI: 10.1257/app.20160180

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • H54 National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
  • H81 Governmental Loans; Loan Guarantees; Credits; Grants; Bailouts
  • I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
  • J44 Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing
  • O32 Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
  • O38 Technological Change: Government Policy
  • P35 Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions: Public Economics
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