British universities excel in the social sciences. How much of their success depends on the EU?

Some British academics have argued that the social sciences would suffer if the UK left the Union, on the grounds that the EU brings funding and enhances collaboration. But the EU’s contribution to this area is not that simple, argues David Walker. Nor is it correct to claim, as the Leave lobby has, that money currently handed to Europe could instead be spent on UK research. European opacity, an intellectual orientation towards the United States and a lack of hard data on EU research performance make it impossible to be sure how much of Britain’s stellar performance in the social sciences can be attributed to EU membership.