The Impact of Countries' Economy and Wealth on Their Research Activities

Research activity encompasses the collation, analysis, and interpretation of information aimed at improving human knowledge and understanding. This is subject to the economy and wealth of academia and research institutions and by proxy to the country where they belong. In countries with less than $1,035 per capita gross income (GNI), research activities suffer serious setbacks. Such economic conditions often result in the scarcity or even absence of research funds. 

Insufficient research funding can also be interrelated to a country’s struggle with poor educational outcomes, degrading infrastructure, and unfavorable government policies. Government policies can deter the implementation of quality research. For instance, in Nigeria, the amendment of section 20 of the then ‘Education Trust Fund (ETF)’ establishment Acts to the now ‘Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)’ excludes research-focused institutions from benefitting from research funding. Ultimately, the conditions of conducting research can result in job dissatisfaction leading to the emigration of researchers in countries with more favorable research infrastructure. 

Emerging evidence in recent reports suggests, however, that cross-collaborative and interdisciplinary research may ease the challenges faced by researchers with limited or no access to research funds. Collaboration and networking between academic and industrial researchers could be a potential avenue for overcoming the lack of funds and for establishing ties at local and national levels. It needs, of course, to be highlighted that organizations and evaluators involved in funding research projects at the international level perceive institutions in developing and low-income countries as inferior to the ones located in more developed countries. This perception impacts whether an institution will acquire vital external research funds (evaluators tend to privilege more ‘reputable’ organizations) as well as when and how it will join research consortia.

Following these observations, this Research Topic focuses on the tension between wealth and research funding in an international context. Its purpose is to examine and bring together common attitudes, perceptions, and barriers to research and research activities among researchers from institutions with limited research funding and financial support. Its goal is to encourage knowledge production in response to discussions on attitudes, perceptions, and barriers to research and research activities among researchers facing funding challenges. The collection is expected to bring together knowledge shared among researchers working in settings where research funding is either limited or unavailable. We welcome quality contributions on all categories of article types such as Original Research, Mini Review, Systematic Review, Opinion, Policy, Perspective, and Review articles that respond, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• the effects of research funding on a country’s economy
• attitudes and perceptions of researchers in institutions without research funding
• researchers’ performance in research institutions without funding
• the correlation of scarcity of research funding and job satisfaction
• strategies for conducting research without funding
• policies towards private and public research funding and their impact on a country’s economic growth
• the effects of cross-border collaborative and interdisciplinary research
• strategies and ways of funding research
• difference in research topics between countries of different economic growth
• comparison of the impact of funding on the outcome of research from research-focused institutions and the university system on a country’s economy.