Do US Congressional earmarks increase research output at universities?

For 20 years US universities have been able to bypass peer-reviewed research competition for federal funding and seek a direct appropriation of funding from Congress. Proponents of this earmarking claim it helps a university to build the infrastructure needed to be able to compete for peer-reviewed funding. Opponents claim this funding is used poorly and is less productive than peer-reviewed funding. Using two panel data sets that span 1980 to …