Replication data for: In Defense of the NSF Economics Program
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Robert A. Moffitt
Version: View help for Version V1
Name | File Type | Size | Last Modified |
---|---|---|---|
Moffitt_dataset_complete | 10/12/2019 06:23:PM | ||
|
text/plain | 14.6 KB | 10/12/2019 02:23:PM |
Project Citation:
Moffitt, Robert A. Replication data for: In Defense of the NSF Economics Program. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2016. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113974V1
Project Description
Summary:
View help for Summary
The NSF Economics program funds basic research in economics across all its disparate fields. Its budget has experienced a long period of stagnation and decline, with its real value in 2013 below that in 1980 and having declined by 50 percent as a percent of the total NSF budget. The number of grants made by the program has also declined over time, and its current budget is very small compared to that of many other funders of economic research. Over the years, NSF-supported research has supported many of the major intellectual developments in the discipline that have made important contributions to the study of public policy. The public goods argument for government support of basic economic research is strong. Neither private firms, foundations, nor private donors are likely to engage in the comprehensive support of all forms of economic research if NSF were not to exist. Select universities with large endowments are more likely to have the ability to support general economic research in the absence of NSF, but most universities do not have endowments sufficiently large to do so. Support for large-scale general purpose dataset collection is particularly unlikely to receive support from any nongovernment agency. On a priori grounds, it is likely that most NSF-funded research represents a net increase in research effort rather than displacing already-occurring effort by academic economists. Unfortunately, the empirical literature on the net aggregate impact of NSF economics funding is virtually nonexistent.
Scope of Project
JEL Classification:
View help for JEL Classification
I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
O38 Technological Change: Government Policy
I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
O38 Technological Change: Government Policy
Related Publications
Published Versions
Report a Problem
Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.
This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.