“We were funding research when others were not, or when others could not,” he said pointing to post-war Europe’s economic malaise.
That advantage has stuck.
Today, Harvard University’s endowment alone is worth around US$27 billion, roughly equal to Costa Rica’s GDP.
Still, Harvard’s nest egg has shrunk by US$10 billion since the start of the fiscal year thanks to a financial crisis that Geiger says will erode US universities’ attraction.
“The crisis has been longer and more deeply felt in the United States, that will have an impact,” he said.
At the same time, European and Asian universities are increasing the type of innovative research that wins awards.
“Other countries have recognized the importance of this type of competition,” said Geiger who sees change already taking place.
“The rest of the world is competing, the law of numbers says they will catch up. If you look at publication and citation counts, Nobel prizes are a lagging indicator,” Geiger said.
In some disciplines, the playing field has already been leveled.
Europeans still dominate the Fields Medal for mathematics or the Pritzker Prize for architecture, both areas which can require less research funding.
An American has not won the Nobel Prize for Literature since Toni Morrison’s award 16 years ago.
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