  In response to the call for a science of science policy, we discuss the
contribution of indicators at the macro-level of nations from a scientometric
perspective. In addition to global trends such as the rise of China, one can
relate percentages of world share of publications to government expenditure in
academic research. The marginal costs of improving one's share are increasing
over time. Countries differ considerably in terms of the efficiency of turning
(financial) input into bibliometrically measurable output. Both funding schemes
and disciplinary portfolios differ among countries. A price per paper can
nevertheless be estimated. The percentages of GDP spent on academic research in
different nations are significantly correlated to historical contingencies such
as the percentage of researchers in the population. The institutional dynamics
make strategic objectives such as the Lisbon objective of the EU--that is,
spending 3% of GDP for R&D in 2010--unrealistic.
