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Bridging the divide? Labor division and researcher mobility in international collaboration

Ralfs, Annika LU orcid ; Muraro, Vinicius LU ; Mazoni, Alysson and Mattsson, Pauline LU (2026) In Quantitative Science Studies 7. p.99-118
Abstract

International research collaboration is essential for tackling global challenges, many of which disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), while scientific capital remains concentrated in high-income countries (HICs). Drawing on CRediT contributorship data from 2018–2023 and past and present author affiliations, we examine how labor is divided in teams between researchers from countries with different economic resources, offering new insights into the role of mobility in addressing structural disparities. Our findings reveal a pronounced divide: Data collection is primarily conducted in LMICs, while data analysis and publication efforts are concentrated in HICs. Although often collaborative, conceptualization is... (More)

International research collaboration is essential for tackling global challenges, many of which disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), while scientific capital remains concentrated in high-income countries (HICs). Drawing on CRediT contributorship data from 2018–2023 and past and present author affiliations, we examine how labor is divided in teams between researchers from countries with different economic resources, offering new insights into the role of mobility in addressing structural disparities. Our findings reveal a pronounced divide: Data collection is primarily conducted in LMICs, while data analysis and publication efforts are concentrated in HICs. Although often collaborative, conceptualization is more frequently led by scientists with past or present HIC ties, reinforcing ongoing debates about intellectual ownership. Mobile researchers with past and present ties to both HICs and LMICs emerge as key contributors to conceptualization and writing, leveraging their unique position to integrate awareness of LMIC challenges with scientific capital in HICs. By shedding light on how access to scientific capital shapes contributions within international teams, this study informs policy efforts to foster more equitable collaborations that align with the needs of LMICs, ensuring global research can effectively tackle pressing challenges.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
capacity building, contributorship, international collaboration, labor division, researcher mobility
in
Quantitative Science Studies
volume
7
pages
20 pages
publisher
MIT Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:105034427141
ISSN
2641-3337
DOI
10.1162/QSS.a.402
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2026 Annika Ralfs, Vinicius Muraro, Alysson Mazoni, and Pauline Mattsson. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For a full description of the license, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
id
33dd4bbb-f5e1-4854-8b65-7a575c2c1586
date added to LUP
2026-06-18 11:20:33
date last changed
2026-06-18 11:21:29
@article{33dd4bbb-f5e1-4854-8b65-7a575c2c1586,
  abstract     = {{<p>International research collaboration is essential for tackling global challenges, many of which disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), while scientific capital remains concentrated in high-income countries (HICs). Drawing on CRediT contributorship data from 2018–2023 and past and present author affiliations, we examine how labor is divided in teams between researchers from countries with different economic resources, offering new insights into the role of mobility in addressing structural disparities. Our findings reveal a pronounced divide: Data collection is primarily conducted in LMICs, while data analysis and publication efforts are concentrated in HICs. Although often collaborative, conceptualization is more frequently led by scientists with past or present HIC ties, reinforcing ongoing debates about intellectual ownership. Mobile researchers with past and present ties to both HICs and LMICs emerge as key contributors to conceptualization and writing, leveraging their unique position to integrate awareness of LMIC challenges with scientific capital in HICs. By shedding light on how access to scientific capital shapes contributions within international teams, this study informs policy efforts to foster more equitable collaborations that align with the needs of LMICs, ensuring global research can effectively tackle pressing challenges.</p>}},
  author       = {{Ralfs, Annika and Muraro, Vinicius and Mazoni, Alysson and Mattsson, Pauline}},
  issn         = {{2641-3337}},
  keywords     = {{capacity building; contributorship; international collaboration; labor division; researcher mobility}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{99--118}},
  publisher    = {{MIT Press}},
  series       = {{Quantitative Science Studies}},
  title        = {{Bridging the divide? Labor division and researcher mobility in international collaboration}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/QSS.a.402}},
  doi          = {{10.1162/QSS.a.402}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}