American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Money, Time, and Grant Design
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
(pp. 348–79)
Abstract
We conduct survey experiments to test how the design of scientific grants—the money and time awarded—can be used to manage researchers. On average, researchers are relatively unwilling to trade off money for time when choosing among grants. However, there is significant heterogeneity in researchers' preferences. Conditional on receiving a grant, different designs cause only minor changes in researchers' plans for how they would use the funding. Marginal changes in grant design are more relevant for selection effects (funders' ability to attract certain researchers) than treatment effects (funders' ability to change researchers' strategies).Citation
Myers, Kyle, and Wei Yang Tham. 2026. "Money, Time, and Grant Design." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 18 (4): 348–79. DOI: 10.1257/app.20240477Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C83 Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- O31 Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives