This study sought to understand using qualitative methods why and how the Government of Singapore came to set-up organized research units (ORU) in her two autonomous universities - the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). That is, are ORUs the chief means in transforming NUS and NTU into top WCUs? The underpinnings of the institutional theory in the globalized context, the theory of academic capitalism, and guidance by frameworks on educational policy transfer, as well as the glonacal heuristics, together with document and discourse analysis of published documents, aided in the design of this study.This study finds that key state and institutional actors in Singapore decided to emulate the key features of U.S.-originated organized research units to make R&D and innovation-led economic growth the vehicle of sustaining this global city-state's global competitiveness in the knowledge-economy and to better elevate the status of both NUS and NTU as world-class. Because global rankings have branding implications, catch-up nations and institutions should make serious attempts to balance the ranking-enhancement effort with their local, national, and regional science-research needs given the constraints of available capital and resources.

Submitted by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-11-07T19:05:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LuizMarcelChagasdaSilvaTese2018.pdf: 2017259 bytes, checksum: 803f2346f7dfaf462f18624a13435187 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-11-07T19:05:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LuizMarcelChagasdaSilvaTese2018.pdf: 2017259 bytes, checksum: 803f2346f7dfaf462f18624a13435187 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-07T19:05:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LuizMarcelChagasdaSilvaTese2018.pdf: 2017259 bytes, checksum: 803f2346f7dfaf462f18624a13435187 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-16 / This work comprises two studies on regional economics. In the first one, the technical efficiency of fourteen Research Units (UP) of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC) was measured through the data envelopment analysis (DEA) with three variables (two inputs and one output) using the BCC model (Banker, Charnes and Cooper, 1984), for performance measurement, with variable returns of scale, oriented to input. The analysis was performed annually, triennial and triennial year by year and the results show that two units achieved efficiency above 80%, five units achieved efficiency between 50% and 79% and seven units were efficiently below 49%. These results can be used for the implementation and formulation of new national R&D policies in Brazil, such as the creation of more efficient strategies in the application of the federal public resources, the restructuring of the National Science, Technology and Innovation System (SNCTI) and the qualification and recruitment of new professionals. In the second study, the relationship between the total factor productivity, the capital stock used in Research and Development of the public research institutes, the stock of public capital and the stock of human capital in the period from 2002 to 2016 in the northern, northeast, southeast and center-west regions that have public research institutes. The regression model with panel data was used to estimate the relationship between independent variables (capital in Research and Development, public capital and human capital) and the dependent variable (total factor productivity). The result showed that only the human capital (worker education) is a relevant variable in explaining regional productivity, with an impact on productivity growth in the regions analyzed. / Este trabalho compreende dois estudos sobre economia regional. No primeiro, foi medido a eficiência técnica das catorze Unidades de Pesquisa (UP) do Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações (MCTIC), através da análise de envelopamento de dados (DEA) com três variáveis (dois inputs e um output), utilizando o modelo BCC (Banker, Charnes e Cooper, 1984), para a medição do desempenho, com retornos variáveis de escala, orientado a input. As rodagens foram realizadas de forma anual, trienal e trienal móvel e os resultados mostram que duas unidades atingiram eficiência acima de 80%, cinco unidades atingiram eficiência entre 50% e 79% e sete unidades ficaram com eficiência abaixo de 49%. Estes resultados podem ser usados para a implementação e formulação de novas políticas nacionais de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento no Brasil, como a criação de estratégias mais eficientes na aplicação do orçamento público federal, a reestruturação do Sistema Nacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (SNCTI) e a qualificação e atração de novos servidores. No segundo estudo, foi verificada a relação entre a produtividade total dos fatores, o estoque de capital utilizado em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento dos institutos públicos de pesquisa, o estoque de capital público e o estoque de capital humano no período de 2002 a 2016 nas regiões norte, nordeste, sudeste e centro-oeste, regiões que possuem institutos públicos de pesquisa. Foi utilizado o modelo de regressão com dados em painel para estimar a relação entre as variáveis independentes (capital em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, capital público e capital humano) e a variável dependente (produtividade total dos fatores). O resultado apontou que somente capital humano (educação do trabalhador) é uma variável relevante na explicação da produtividade regional, com um impacto no crescimento da produtividade nas regiões analisadas.