Horta, H (Horta, Hugo); Veloso, FM (Veloso, Francisco M.) Opening the box: Comparing EU and US scientific output by scientific field TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE, 74 (8): 1334-1356 OCT 2007

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Address: fveloso at cmu.edu 

Author(s): Horta, H (Horta, Hugo); Veloso, FM (Veloso, Francisco M.) 

Title: Opening the box: Comparing EU and US scientific output by 
scientific field 

Source: TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE, 74 (8): 1334-1356 OCT 
2007 

Language: English 
Document Type: Article 

Author Keywords: scientific productivity; scientific competitiveness; 
science policy 

Keywords Plus: SCIENCE-AND-TECHNOLOGY; IMPACT FACTOR; INDICATORS; CITATION 

Abstract: Recent reports suggest that, during the 1990s, the EU15 overcame 
the US in scientific output. This paper provides a comprehensive 
comparative analysis of the evolution of the EU 15 and US scientific 
output and impact throughout the 1990s, looking at publications and impact 
trends by scientific field. Results show that changes in scientific 
production for the two blocks are driven by particular scientific fields 
which grew or declined at a fast rate during the decade. Throughout this 
period, the EU 15 had eight fields of science, corresponding to a 13% of 
the total papers published, growing at a rate faster than 10% in relation 
to world average, while the US had only four fast growing fields, 
representing 6% of its total output. The situation was exactly reversed 
for the decline, with the US having more than doubled the number of 
scientific fields when compared to the EU 15 declining at a rate faster 
than 10%. Despite this recent trend, the US maintains a distant leadership 
in impact across all scientific fields. A detailed analysis of the EU 15 
countries shows some convergence in terms of outputs and impact, but 
considerable differences among countries remain. These reflect the 
evolution, not only of their science, technology and higher education 
systems, but also their integration in the international science system. 
(C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 

Addresses: Carnegie Mellon Univ, Dept Engn & Publ Policy, Pittsburgh, PA 
15213 USA; Univ Tecn Lisbon, Inst Super Tecn, Ctr Innovat Technol & Policy 
Res IN, P-1049001 Lisbon, Portugal; Univ Catolica Portuguesa, Fac Ciencias 
Econ & Empresariais, Lisbon, Portugal 

Reprint Address: Veloso, FM, Carnegie Mellon Univ, Dept Engn & Publ 
Policy, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA. 

Cited Reference Count: 52 
Times Cited: 0 

Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC 

Publisher Address: 360 PARK AVE SOUTH, NEW YORK, NY 10010-1710 USA 

ISSN: 0040-1625 

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