A recent study shows that Israeli scientists produce approximately 1.0% of the scientific literature, which ranks their country 14th among the world’s nations in terms of scientific output. In return their articles receive about 20% fewer citations than expected, based upon the average citation rates to the journals in which those articles appear that places Israel 25th in terms of scientific impact (see T. Braun, W. Glinzel, and A. Schubert, Scientometrics, Vol. 13, May 1988, pages 181-8).
The Institute for Scientific Information’s Science Indicators File confirms this relative underperformance in recent years (mid-1970s to present), as does an exhaustive report by Israel’s Ministry of Science and Development on the nation’s performance in clinical and biomedical research, published in April. The report states that “there appears to have been [since the early 1970s] a widespread reduction in the international standing of Israel’s research effort in terms of its impact on world ...
