Comment on: New ways to pay for research could boost scientific progress

Mark Roulston commented upon the article ‘New ways to pay for research could boost scientific progress’ which appeared in The Economist on 15.11.2023.

There is an alternative to the funding models for scientific research that you discussed. Prediction markets use betting to aggregate expertise and incentivise participants to get it right. They could be used as a mechanism to fund some types of research in a more inclusive and performance-driven way. Where the primary aim of research is a well-specified prediction, climate forecasting for example, using the proven ability of markets to synthesise diverse information could be more effective than traditional grant proposals and peer review.

This comment originally appeared in Letters to the editor section of The Economist on 14.12.2023.