Using a new data set that allows us to analyze precisely the research output in all fields of science, we show that the gap in scientific performance between Europe, especially continental Europe, and Anglo-Saxon countries, especially the USA, is large. We measure research quality by the number of highly cited researchers in nineteen selected scientific fields. After controlling for different variables, such as par capita GDP and outlays in R&D, the differences in productivity between Anglo-Saxon countries and other countries are explained, not surprisingly, by the importance of English proficiency, but also by the quality of institutions and of governance of the countries in the studied sample, the latter being in all likelihood highly correlated with the governance quality of research institutions.
