Hardback
The Economics of Knowledge Production
Funding and the Structure of University Research
9781840640281 Edward Elgar Publishing
This path-breaking book addresses the economics of knowledge in universities and, in particular, asks how the changing structure of university research funding influences research behaviour.
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Critical Acclaim
Contents
More Information
This path-breaking book addresses the economics of knowledge in universities and, in particular, asks how the changing structure of university research funding influences research behaviour.
The author considers the relationship between the allocation of funds and university scientific research productivity and examines different aspects of European Union funding of university research. In particular, the impact of possible unintended consequences of university policies and priorities are studied. The author introduces an economic and historical approach to university research behaviour that allows one to evaluate the indirect consequences of the new ‘competitive approach’ to university behaviour and funding. Moreover, the book presents empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that tighter linkages between university and industry, which aim to increase the transfer of knowledge, may produce unintended negative effects.
This book will be of use to scholars of the economics of innovation and the economics of knowledge.
The author considers the relationship between the allocation of funds and university scientific research productivity and examines different aspects of European Union funding of university research. In particular, the impact of possible unintended consequences of university policies and priorities are studied. The author introduces an economic and historical approach to university research behaviour that allows one to evaluate the indirect consequences of the new ‘competitive approach’ to university behaviour and funding. Moreover, the book presents empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that tighter linkages between university and industry, which aim to increase the transfer of knowledge, may produce unintended negative effects.
This book will be of use to scholars of the economics of innovation and the economics of knowledge.
Critical Acclaim
‘As someone working towards improving his understanding of the effects of recent government reforms on Australian higher education, this book expands the range of questions. . .’
– Harry Clarke, The Economic Record
‘. . . the present book is an immensely valuable addition to the literature . . . this book was a delight to read. It both enlightens the reader and raises lots of interesting questions suggesting further research around the main themes. It should be read both by academics like myself, “inside the system”, and by policymakers and officials who influence the functioning of universities without themselves being insiders. As usual, better policy towards the universities is likely to arise from a better understanding of how the system – specifically in regard to research – functions, and this book makes an excellent start in that direction.’
– Paul Hare, The Economic Journal
‘This book takes a fresh and illuminating approach to a subject whose importance for sustaining modern industrial development and improvements in economic welfare over the long run is now widely acknowledged . . . Aldo Geuna’s research findings directly address the increasingly insistent need for greater knowledge about key parts of the knowledge-driven economy. His book therefore will be seen to be of timely importance, no less for its novel extension and empirical application to this subject of the analytical approach associated with the “new economics of science” than for the new substantive findings it contains.’
– From the preface by Paul David, All Souls College, Oxford, UK
– Harry Clarke, The Economic Record
‘. . . the present book is an immensely valuable addition to the literature . . . this book was a delight to read. It both enlightens the reader and raises lots of interesting questions suggesting further research around the main themes. It should be read both by academics like myself, “inside the system”, and by policymakers and officials who influence the functioning of universities without themselves being insiders. As usual, better policy towards the universities is likely to arise from a better understanding of how the system – specifically in regard to research – functions, and this book makes an excellent start in that direction.’
– Paul Hare, The Economic Journal
‘This book takes a fresh and illuminating approach to a subject whose importance for sustaining modern industrial development and improvements in economic welfare over the long run is now widely acknowledged . . . Aldo Geuna’s research findings directly address the increasingly insistent need for greater knowledge about key parts of the knowledge-driven economy. His book therefore will be seen to be of timely importance, no less for its novel extension and empirical application to this subject of the analytical approach associated with the “new economics of science” than for the new substantive findings it contains.’
– From the preface by Paul David, All Souls College, Oxford, UK
Contents
Contents: Preface (by Paul David) 1. Introduction Part I: A Theoretical and Historical Approach 2. The Economics of University Research Behaviour 3. An Evolutionary Account of European Universities Part II: Allocation of Funds and University Research 4. Contemporary European Universities: Relationships among Age, Size and Research Output 5. Allocation of Funds and Research Output: The Case of British Universities Part III: EU Funding of University Research 6. University Participation in Community Framework Programmes 7. EU and National University Research Funding: The BRITE-EURAM Programme Part IV: Summary and Conclusions 8. Conclusions
