The Impact of Public Research Contracts on Scientific Productivity

Abstract

We analyze a competitive research-oriented public program established in Spain, the Ramon y Cajal Program, intended to offer contracts in public research centers to high-quality researchers. We study the effects of the Program on the ex-post scientific productivity of its recipients, relative to unsuccessful applicants with comparable curricula at the time of application. The full sample results demonstrate that the Program has a positive and significant effect on the scientific impact of the recipients, as measured by the average and the maximum impact factors, but the effect on the number of published papers is not significant. Consequently, receiving a contract does not significantly affect the quantity, but increases the quality, of the contract recipients' publications. This result is primarily driven by the particular relevance of experimental sciences in the Program.