What does the "tech rate" value mean in the rules section of civ3edit (under World Sizes)?

Dana

It is the cost of techs on larger maps there are more citys and so techs come faster, you turn it up to slow the techs.

Press F1 in the editor for more info.

Base tech research rate = base tech cost * tech rate /10

You can find more info on a topic in the strategy section named tech something somthing, I forgot the actual name.