Global Excellence at the Expense of Local Diffusion, or a Bridge between Two Worlds? Research in Science and Technology in the Developing World

15 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2014

See all articles by Helena Barnard

Helena Barnard

University of Pretoria - Gordon Institute of Business Science

Robin Cowan

Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT)

Moritz Mueller

Independent

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

Do world-leading researchers from developing countries contribute to upgrading locally, or do they disengage from the local context? The paper investigates the scientific collaborations of university-based science and technology researchers in the database of the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), and analyses the co-authorships of researchers who were ranked by the NRF during the 2001-2007 period. To establish the extent to which a researcher can access knowledge outside the South African academic science and technology research community, and share it inside that community, we develop a measure of ‘gatekeeping’. The evidence suggests that there is not a local/global trade-off in knowledge creation in academia in the developing world, and that the world-leading researchers in developing countries may play an especially important role as conduits of new knowledge in their country.

Suggested Citation

Barnard, Helena and Cowan, Robin and Mueller, Moritz, Global Excellence at the Expense of Local Diffusion, or a Bridge between Two Worlds? Research in Science and Technology in the Developing World (2012). Research Policy, Vol. 41, No. 756, 769, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2387558

Helena Barnard (Contact Author)

University of Pretoria - Gordon Institute of Business Science ( email )

26 Melville Road
Illovo
Johannesburg, 2146
South Africa
+27117714213 (Phone)
+27117714177 (Fax)

Robin Cowan

Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, 6200 MD
Netherlands

Moritz Mueller

Independent ( email )

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