International collaboration and knowledge creation: Evidence from economics in Portuguese academia

Abstract

This paper uses a sample of articles published in the period 1999-2013 by economists affiliated to Portuguese institutions to examine the impact of co-authorship on the quality of academic research. We build a unique database to characterize the role played by distinct affiliations and educational backgrounds in this process, while controlling for experience and individual quality levels. Mentoring relationships are identified as a possible source of negative bias on the measurement of teamwork productivity, which we proxy and quantify here. The empirical results also suggest that co-authorship across domestic institutions does not carry any significant impact on research quality, but international collaboration enhances it. A doctorate earned abroad is shown to directly improve publication outcomes, besides making it easier to establish partnerships across frontiers. These findings underscore the importance of accessing external knowledge networks, offering relevant policy insights for a large number of small and less developed countries.