Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five / James J. Heckman, Sidharth Moktan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heckman, James J.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Moktan, Sidharth.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w25093.

NBER working paper series no. w25093

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Publishing and Promotion in Economics

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2018.

Summary:

This paper examines the relationship between placement of publications in Top Five (T5) journals and receipt of tenure in academic economics departments. Analyzing the job histories of tenure-track economists hired by the top 35 U.S. economics departments, we find that T5 publications have a powerful influence on tenure decisions and rates of transition to tenure. A survey of the perceptions of young economists supports the formal statistical analysis. Pursuit of T5 publications has become the obsession of the next generation of economists. However, the T5 screen is far from reliable. A substantial share of influential publications appear in non-T5 outlets. Reliance on the T5 to screen talent incentivizes careerism over creativity.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2018.