Measuring and interpreting the differences of the nations’ scientific specialization indexes by output and by input

Abstract This paper compares the national scientific profiles of 199 countries in 254 fields, tracked by two indices of scientific specialization based respectively on indicators of input and output. For each country, the indicator of inputs considers the number of researchers in each field. The output indicator, named Total Fractional Impact, based on the citations of publications indexed in the Web of Science, measures the scholarly impact of knowledge produced in each field. For each country, the approach allows us to measure the deviations between the two profiles, thereby revealing potential differences in research efficiency and/or capital allocation across fields, compared to benchmark countries.