Measuring the efficiency of highly funded scientists in China based on the data envelopment analysis

Since the competition in the scientific community is becoming increasingly fierce, measuring the research performance of highly funded scientists is growingly critical for relevant management authorities to make effective policies in scientific research and development. However, little quantitative analysis has focused on this issue. To facilitate the research in this area, we first construct a dataset containing both the funding inputs and the research paper outputs of highly funded scientists in China. Then, instead of directly summing quantitative indicators, in this paper, we measure the efficiency of highly funded scientists in China based on the data envelopment analysis models. We show that we can grade highly funded scientists into several grades and present their scores on attractiveness or progress to other grades. The gradual learning path for less efficient scientists is also provided. These patterns of highly funded scientists may be beneficial for management authorities to make effective policies.