To be able to value the published scientific articles (quality), one can examine how many times
a certain publication has been cited.
Figure 7 - Citations of scientific articles by region of origin0,01,02,03,04,05,06,07,08,09,010,011,012,01990 1994 19990,01,02,03,04,05,06,07,08,09,010,011,012,0EU 1 5 USA JAPNumber of citations per scientific publicationNote: Citations are defined as citations by scientific papers to scientific literature. Geography refers to cited region. Citations are on the
basis of a three-year window with a two-year lag; for example, 1999 citations counts are articles published in 1999 citing articles
published in 1995-97.
Source: OECD STI Scoreboard 2003 / National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators 2002, http://www.nsf.gov.
The EU lacks behind again – but only compared to the US. In Japan the number of citations per
scientific publication is about 4 while the figure in the EU is about 5. All three regions have a
rising tendency. Of course the indicator reflects the possible fact that English publications are
more often cited than for instance publications from Germany, France, and Japan etc.
It seems that the EU still has a way to go although the time series show an upward tendency.
The growth in the EU has for a while been stagnant which might have an impact on the
investments on R&D. Looking at the number of researchers in the EU compared to the US there
is a significant difference.
Figure 8 - Researchers per 10,000 labour force by sector of employment0,010,020,030,040,050,060,070,080,01991 2000 0,010,020,030,040,050,060,070,080,0Bu si n ess en t erprise Go ver n m en t Higher educationEU15 researchers per 10,000 labour force0,010,020,030,040,050,060,070,080,01991 2000 0,010,020,030,040,050,060,070,080,0Bu si n ess en t erprise Go ver n m en t Higher educationUSA researchers per 10,000 labour forceNote: USA data for 2000 is 1999 numbers. EU data for higher education 2000 is in fact 1999 number.
Source: OECD STI Scoreboard 2003.