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Economic, linguistic, and political factors in the scientific productivity of countries

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Abstract

This paper examines the influence of economic, linguistic, and political factors in the scientific productivity of countries across selected scientific disciplines. Using a negative binomial regression model, I show that the effect of these determinants is contingent upon the scientific field under analysis. The only variable that exerts a positive and significant effect across all disciplines is the size of the economy. The linguistic variable only has a positive influence in the social sciences as well as in medicine and agricultural sciences. In addition, it is also demonstrated that the degree of political authoritarianism has a negative and statistically significant effect in some of the selected fields.

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Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

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Correspondence to Ernesto R. Gantman.

Appendix—List of Countries

Appendix—List of Countries

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, México, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Níger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

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Gantman, E.R. Economic, linguistic, and political factors in the scientific productivity of countries. Scientometrics 93, 967–985 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0736-3

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