OST data show Italy overtaking Canada

Federal cutbacks to university research in the 1990s severely impacted on Canada’s production of scientific papers, allowing Italy to pull ahead for the first time in recent memory. The analysis was conducted by Observatoire des sciences et technologies (OST) using data stretching from 1980 to 1999. It shows that Canada’s contribution grew from 1980 to 1992 and then fell 4.4%, holding a slim lead over Italy. Data from 1999 show that Italy surpassed Canada by nearly 2% in total papers, capping a 210%-increase in that country production between 1980 and 1998. During that period, Canada generated a 2.6% annual growth in scientific papers, compared to 6.6% in Italy. FMI, contact OST’s Benoit Godin at (519) 499-4074....