Tornar a Working Papers

Paper #1520

Títol:
Did cheaper flights change the direction of science?
Autors:
Christian Catalini, Christian Fons-Rosen i Patrick Gaulé
Data:
Abril 2016
Resum:
We test how a reduction in travel cost affects the rate and direction of scientific research. Using a fine-grained, scientist-level dataset within chemistry (1991-2012), we find that after Southwest Airlines enters a new route, scientific collaboration increases by 50%, an effect that is magnified when weighting output by quality. The benefits from the lower fares, however, are not uniform across scientist types: younger scientists and scientists that are more productive than their local peers respond the most. Thus, cheaper flights, by reducing frictions otherwise induced by geography and allowing for additional face-to-face interactions, seem to enable better matches over distance.
Paraules clau:
scientific collaboration, air travel, temporary co-location, face-to-face meetings.
Codis JEL:
03, R4, L93
Àrea de Recerca:
Economia de l'Empresa i Organització Industrial / Economia Laboral, Pública, de Desenvolupament i de la Salut

Descarregar el paper en format PDF