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Efficiency and Economies of Scale in Academic Knowledge Production

Author

Listed:
  • Felderer, Bernhard

    (Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna)

  • Obersteiner, Michael

    (Department of Economics, Institute for Advanced Studies)

Abstract

This paper investigates the properties of knowledge production in academic research using a panel of 17 OECD countries reaching from 1989 to 1996. The production process is modelled using capital and labour as inputs and the number of published international journal articles and/or the number of graduates as outputs. First, we test for the existence of economies of scale in academic research. Our results give indication for decreasing returns to scale in the production of new academic knowledge. This empirical result might contribute to the recent controversy on the properties of the innovation technology used in endogenous growth models. Second, we determine efficiency scores for each individual country. For the estimation of efficiencies we apply parametric and non-parametric methods. Although results differ slightly with the method used, a stable efficiency ranking is found.

Suggested Citation

  • Felderer, Bernhard & Obersteiner, Michael, 1999. "Efficiency and Economies of Scale in Academic Knowledge Production," Economics Series 63, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ihs:ihsesp:63
    as

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    File URL: https://irihs.ihs.ac.at/id/eprint/1156
    File Function: First version, 1999
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elliott, Caroline & Greenaway, David & Sapsford, David, 1998. "Who's publishing who? The national composition of contributors to some core US and European journals," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 201-206, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz & Aleksandra Parteka, 2011. "Efficiency of European public higher education institutions: a two-stage multicountry approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 89(3), pages 887-917, December.
    2. Ghulam, Yaseen & Mousa, Wael I., 2019. "Estimation of productivity growth in the Saudi higher education sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Academic Research; Education; Knowledge Production; Efficiency; Endogenous Growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A1 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics
    • A2 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics

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