An Assessment of British Science over the Twentieth Century

Bruce Weinberg

Economic Journal, 2009, vol. 119, issue 538, F252-F269

Abstract: The twentieth century saw dramatic international shifts in scientific leadership. Despite these dramatic shifts Britain's position has been remarkably stable and strong. I study these changes using data on Nobel laureates in Chemistry, Medicine, and Physics. Raw data show a slight decline in British science, mainly in physics but once one accounts for the tremendous increase in the US, British science actually shows strong growth. I show that raw data and data that adjust for population and gross domestic product (per capita or total), consistently rank Britain as one of the top scientific performers. Copyright © The Author(s). Journal compilation © Royal Economic Society 2009.

Date: 2009
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