Science and technology in Africa : a bibliometric and patent analysis
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: It is known that Africa's R&D has been fragile. However, the analysis of bibliometric data indicates that Africa has relative distinguish behaviours on publication (2,51% of world output in 2011) and patent production (0,25% of total PCT Applications in 2011). Regarding research output there was a turning point around 2004, when the continent's output was yet to reach 15,000 publications annually. Since that year African publications have grown faster than the world average, with its number more than duplicating until now. These advances are overshadowed by the fact the continent’s production is still highly concentrated (South Africa and Egypt). Concerning scientific specialization, the results indicate that the overall Africa’s specialization is not too different of the world pattern with the exception of Agricultural Sciences, which are relatively more important in Africa. An important finding is that, at the nation level, higher level of specialization and English language colonial legacy seems to lead to better results on “scientific impact”. Other relevant result is that there seems to be a non-linear dynamics between publication output and patent output. The more a country publishes in WoS publications, the more it is able to transform scientific information into technological inventions. Finally, as demonstrated, in a way, by our cluster analysis, Africa is too complex to follow one set of S&T policies. Each country must evaluate what already exists and, with a realistic vision (Lundvall, 2009), develop their knowledge frontiers to respond to local circumstances and opportunities.
Language: Portuguese
Subfield: Library and Information Sciences
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W67013231