Commentary by Roger Erickson
Where do research scientists go if their country doesn't want to allow enough Aggregate Demand to support cutting edge, basic research?
China, at the moment.
"close to 1 in 5 [US] scientists have considered moving overseas for better funding opportunities"
“People are wasting so much time writing grant applications over and over again and not getting anywhere,”
Heck, since Wall St. has been misapplying so many math and physics majors, why not send health scientists to Congress, to explain reality to dimwit politicians and lobbyists? That presumably couldn't hurt, since the levels of discussion at the highest levels of government are lower than you could possibly imagine.
The grant system in the U.S. was broken 20 years ago (when I left academia) and I imagine it only got worse over time. (This is in comparison to the U.K. and Canada, where I studied and worked, although the situation was converging towards the US problems there as well.)
ReplyDeleteThe problem as I saw it, was not the amount of money, but the bureaucracy involved. Academia was an "old boy's network", which allowed for very light bureacracy. This posed political problems, so the move was towards "transparent" bureaucratic procedures. This solution, however has meant that the grant application process grew out of control in size and complexity. I saw no easy solution at the time (and left academia anyway).
This is really no joke. It is going to be a dominant theme of the 21st century as countries lure talent just like companies. This is going to create a real problem for national security unless a country prevents people with sensitive information and superior knowledge from leaving, as is the case with exporting technology.
ReplyDeleteLook at the stats in the US regarding education. Who is doing the best" Asians. Go figure. Once Asia comes online they are going to be super-tough competitors.
The New Normal? Slower R&D Spending - FRB Atlanta
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