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Do collaborations enhance the high-quality output of scientific institutions? Evidence from the Italian Research Assessment Exercise

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  • Carillo, Maria Rosaria
  • Papagni, Erasmo
  • Sapio, Alessandro

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the effects of research collaborations on the scientific output of academic institutions, drawing on data from the first official Italian research assessment exercise. We measure the scientific performance of a research unit as the number of publications that received an excellent grade in the evaluation process. Different aspects of scientific collaboration are taken into account, such as the degree of openness of a research team towards other institutions and/or countries, the frequency of co-authorships, and the average size of co-authoring teams. Using econometric models for count data, we find that greater and more frequent knowledge exchange resulting from collaboration with external or foreign colleagues increase researchers’ productivity.

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  • Carillo, Maria Rosaria & Papagni, Erasmo & Sapio, Alessandro, 2013. "Do collaborations enhance the high-quality output of scientific institutions? Evidence from the Italian Research Assessment Exercise," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 25-36.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:47:y:2013:i:c:p:25-36
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2013.08.005
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    3. Slobodan Perović & Sandro Radovanović & Vlasta Sikimić & Andrea Berber, 2016. "Optimal research team composition: data envelopment analysis of Fermilab experiments," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(1), pages 83-111, July.
    4. Massimiliano Tani, 2022. "Same degree but different outcomes: an analysis of labour market outcomes for native and international PhD students in Australia," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 56(1), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Pike, Susan & Lubell, Mark, 2016. "Geography and social networks in transportation mode choice," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 184-193.
    6. Luigi Aldieri & Maxim N. Kotsemir & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2020. "The Effects of Collaboration on Research Performance of Universities: an Analysis by Federal District and Scientific Fields in Russia," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(2), pages 766-787, June.
    7. Dmitry A. Radushinsky & Egor O. Zamyatin & Alexandra I. Radushinskaya & Ivan I. Sytko & Ekaterina E. Smirnova, 2024. "The Performance and Qualitative Evaluation of Scientific Work at Research Universities: A Focus on the Types of University and Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-26, September.
    8. Aldieri, Luigi & Kotsemir, Maxim & Vinci, Concetto Paolo, 2017. "The impact of research collaboration on academic performance: An empirical analysis for Russian Universities," MPRA Paper 76408, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    Keywords

    Academic departments; Productivity; Knowledge externalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations

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