producing research better?

No, absolutely not. Speaking as someone doing STEM research at a NZ uni, we're constantly getting our funding cut. The university I'm at wastes millions constructing new buildings and shitty modern art sculptures on campus, rather than renovating the underutilized buildings they already have and spending the remaining money on research funding.

Also, there is a HUGE discrimination in funding depending on the field, even in the sciences. Unis will generously fund anything vet, agriculture, dairy; then all the other fields have to fight over the remaining crumbs. The disgusting thing is, none of the ag/dairy funding goes toward lab grown meat and similar avenues of research that are predicted to replace traditional farming in our lifetime. It's utter madness, and it doesn't prepare the countries economy for the future.