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The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians

Kirk Doran (kdoran@nd.edu) and George Borjas
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Kirk Doran: Department of Economics, University of Notre Dame

Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Kirk B. Doran

No 2, Working Papers from University of Notre Dame, Department of Economics

Abstract: It has been difficult to open up the black box of knowledge production. We use unique international data on the publications, citations, and affiliations of mathematicians to examine the impact of a large post-1992 influx of Soviet mathematicians on the productivity of their American counterparts. We find a negative productivity effect on those mathematicians whose research overlapped with that of the Soviets. We also document an increased mobility rate (to lower-quality institutions and out of active publishing) and a reduced likelihood of producing “home run” papers. Although the total product of the pre-existing American mathematicians shrank, the Soviet contribution to American mathematics filled in the gap. However, there is no evidence that the Soviets greatly increased the size of the “mathematics pie.” Finally, we find that there are significant international differences in the productivity effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that these international differences can be explained by both differences in the size of the émigré flow into the various countries and in how connected each country is to the global market for mathematical publications.

Keywords: Productivity; Knowledge Production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J61 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 79 pages
Date: 2012-07, Revised 2012-07
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (264)

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Related works:
Chapter: THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION AND THE PRODUCTIVITY OF AMERICAN MATHEMATICIANS (2021) Downloads
Journal Article: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012) Downloads
Working Paper: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012) Downloads
Working Paper: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012) Downloads
Working Paper: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians (2012) Downloads
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