Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 11

VI. Conclusions

This paper shows that the role of the individual in science is rapidly evolving. Teamwork
is increasingly dominant in science, while the contributions of young scholars are increasingly
rare. These patterns are remarkably general across fields and research institutions, and can be
understood as intrinsic to scientific advance, where the accumulation of knowledge naturally
results in increasing training duration and narrower expertise.

By perceiving and understanding these patterns, isolated policy reactions to various
symptoms can be more carefully founded in the evolution of science itself. This paper has
sought to clarify central policy issues, focusing on (a) maintaining incentives for entry into
scientific careers as the training phase extends, (b) maintaining effective evaluation of both
research proposals and commercial inventions as evaluator expertise narrows, and (c) re-tailoring
the reward systems that direct scientific effort as individual accomplishments become rare and
team production becomes dominant.

More generally, the analysis suggests an inherent challenge to “status quo” science policy
institutions. Because science itself evolves, the appropriate form of science policy at one time
will be less appropriate at another. The inertial tendency of institutions makes the
implementation of explicitly dynamic science policies challenging, but the stakes are high. This
paper has sought to clarify the drag on scientific productivity that static policy institutions may
impose and elucidate types of policy adjustments that may accelerate scientific and technological
advance.

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