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

George Borjas and Kirk Doran

Working Paper Series from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government

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 emigre flow into the various countries and in how connected each country is to the global market for mathematical publications.

JEL-codes: J61 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-02
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (279)

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