Is there a “difference-in-difference”? The impact of scientometric evaluation on the evolution of international publications in Egyptian universities and research centres

Adopting scientometric evaluation in the context of academic promotion has been one of the recent reforms in Egyptian higher education geared towards boosting scientific excellence and global exposure. This type of evaluation awards higher points to works published in Web of Science journals. The objective here is to investigate the hypothesis that this procedure leads to the intensification of international publications and shifts in publication patterns in Egyptian universities compared to research centres that are not subject to the regulations employing this type of evaluation. The requisite research data were extracted from Clarivate's InCites for 45 universities and 43 research centres from 1996 to 2021 and analysed using the difference-in-difference approach. The findings show a generally positive effect on WoS publications. That is, significant differences are observed for all variables examined for universities (total publications, subjects, types, and journal quartiles), whereas this evaluation had some spillover effects on research centres. This proves the significance of the evaluation in fostering international productivity. The outputs would be of interest to policy-makers who are planning to promote and broaden the scope of this novel technique in research assessment. The present study may also stimulate future comparisons with other countries applying this type of evaluation.