How Institutional Incentives and Constraints Affect the Progress of Science

Scholars studying science policy have long wondered how the progress of science is affected by scientists' motives, and by the incentives and constraints that scientific institutions create. This paper aims to answer two objections to the soundness and applicability of the 'economics of science' that arise from such issues. I argue that the progress of science can occur even if scientists exhibit a wide range of motives; but that the pace of scientific progress will depend, in part, on the incentives and constraints provided by scientific institutions. I also discuss the implications of path dependence for the epistemological status of science.