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The Impact of False Investigators on Grant Funding

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  • Fong, Eric A.
  • Wilhite, Allen W.

Abstract

False investigators are researchers who have been listed on grant proposals as part of a research team even though there is no expectation that they will contribute to the research effort. Their use seems to be widespread even though their inclusion raises legal and ethical questions. Using data collected from the top 200 universities listed on U.S. News and World Report (2015), this manuscript investigates whether the use of false investigators impacts the distribution of research money and if so, by how much? Our analysis suggests they do, grants with false investigators receive more money, and while the size of this return varies with grant size, we find an average increase of about 70%. We also investigate how this influence is manifested; whether the increased funding is because false investigators apply for more grants, or if the presence of a false investigator increases the amount of funding received per proposal. We close with a discussion of policy issues and questions about research funding that remain unanswered.

Suggested Citation

  • Fong, Eric A. & Wilhite, Allen W., 2021. "The Impact of False Investigators on Grant Funding," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(10).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:50:y:2021:i:10:s0048733321001633
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2021.104366
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Ted von Hippel & Courtney von Hippel, 2015. "To Apply or Not to Apply: A Survey Analysis of Grant Writing Costs and Benefits," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-8, March.
    5. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
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    Cited by:

    1. Conor O’Kane & Jing A. Zhang & Jarrod Haar & James A. Cunningham, 2023. "How scientists interpret and address funding criteria: value creation and undesirable side effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 799-826, August.
    2. Pfeil, Katharina & Necker, Sarah & Feld, Lars P., 2023. "Compliance management in research institutes: Boon or bane?," Freiburg Discussion Papers on Constitutional Economics 23/1, Walter Eucken Institut e.V..
    3. Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A., 2023. "Is there a risk of APC-driven guest authorship?," SocArXiv vhkd8, Center for Open Science.

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