HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series
HKS Working Paper No. RWP12-004
February 2012
Abstract
It has been difficult to open up the black box of knowledge production. We use unique international
data on the publications, citations, and affiliations of mathematicians to examine the impact of a large
post-1992 influx of Soviet mathematicians on the productivity of their American counterparts. We
find a negative productivity effect on those mathematicians whose research overlapped with that of
the Soviets. We also document an increased mobility rate (to lower-quality institutions and out of active
publishing) and a reduced likelihood of producing “home run” papers. Although the total product of
the pre-existing American mathematicians shrank, the Soviet contribution to American mathematics
filled in the gap. However, there is no evidence that the Soviets greatly increased the size of the “mathematics
pie.” Finally, we find that there are significant international differences in the productivity effects
of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that these international differences can be explained by both
differences in the size of the émigré flow into the various countries and in how connected each country
is to the global market for mathematical publications.
Citation
Borjas, George, and Kirk B. Doran. "The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP12-004, February 2012.