Can Expensive Research Equipment Boost Research and Development Performances?
47 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2021
Date Written: December 13, 2020
Abstract
Research equipment is as essential for researchers as transportation is for travelers. Thus, to ascertain the extent to which research equipment affects research performance, this study employed project and performance information to examine the relationships between the qualitative and quantitative performance of papers and patents and the presence and prices of research equipment for research and development (R&D) projects supported by the Korean government from 2011 to 2014 with the Heckman selection model. We discovered that (1) when the equipment was directly constructed using the R&D budgets of the project, it had a positive influence on the performance of both papers and patents. Further, (2) regarding the equipment price, there were negative impacts on papers and patents. At the individual R&D project level, it is necessary to understand the input and output processes to secure project accountability and improvements. We believe this study presents a new perspective on resource allocation of public R&D and promotes an increase in R&D project results using research equipment.
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