An Assessment of British Science over the Twentieth Century

Abstract

The twentieth century saw dramatic international shifts in scientific leadership. Despite these dramatic shifts Britain’s position has been remarkably stable and strong. I study these changes using data on Nobel laureates in Chemistry, Medicine, and Physics. Raw data show a slight decline in British science, mainly in physics but once one accounts for the tremendous increase in the US, British science actually shows strong growth. I show that raw data and data that adjust for population and gross domestic product (per capita or total), consistently rank Britain as one of the top scientific performers.

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