Does Performance-based Public Funding Pay off? UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Research Productivity

Ajab Khan, Ali Onder and Sercan Özcan
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Ajab Khan: University of Portsmouth
Sercan Özcan: University of Portsmouth

No 2023-08, Working Papers in Economics & Finance from University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group

Abstract: It is important to understand whether and in what ways performance-based public funds enhance universities’ research output. Using a synthetic difference-in-differences analysis and propensity score methods to compare research productivity differences between UK universities’ Economics and Business fields and their synthetic counterparts in the US during the REF period in contrast to the pre-REF period, we find a significant and consistent increase in peer-reviewed journal publications of UK universities since the introduction of REF in 2009. We further show that publication output per author declined as a result of increased collaboration while overall citations increased. Our findings further suggest that REF may have played a pivotal role in elevating research excellence in elite institutions.

Keywords: Public funding; Research Productivity; Research Excellence Frameworks (REFs) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H52 I23 O38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25
Date: 2023-11-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff and nep-sog
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