Figure 1. Gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) across regions, in purchasing power parity (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

‘. . . In 2012, the share of the world’s articles with at least one African author was around 2.3%. Growing, but still incredibly low relative to the African share of world population of around 15% in 2015. Even in some big and rapidly growing middle-income countries, such as India or Indonesia, much of the research done is carried out by external academics or consultants.

There is a vicious circle of under-investment in research in developing countries, especially in the social sciences.

To make matters worse, expenditure on social science research is generally less than 20% of gross expenditure on R&D . . . .

‘Why does it matter? Because:

The very essence of a democracy with a vibrant civic culture rests on the assumption that citizens and decision-makers have access to reliable…