nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2010‒03‒20
one paper chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

  1. Trends in Economic Research: An International Perspective By Cardoso, Ana Rute; Guimaraes, Paulo; Zimmermann, Klaus F.

  1. By: Cardoso, Ana Rute (IAE Barcelona (CSIC)); Guimaraes, Paulo (University of South Carolina); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA, DIW Berlin and Bonn University)
    Abstract: Given the recent efforts in several countries to reorganize the research institutional setting to improve research productivity, our analysis addresses the following questions: To which extent has the recent awareness over international quality standards in economics around the world been reflected in research performance? How have individual countries fared? Do research quantity and quality indicators tell us the same story? We concentrate on trends taking place since the beginning of the 1990s and rely on a very comprehensive database of scientific journals, to provide a cross-country comparison of the evolution of research in economics. Our findings indicate that Europe is catching up with the US but, in terms of influential research, the US maintains a dominant position. The main continental European countries, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, experienced some of the largest growth rates in economic scientific output. Other European countries, namely the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden, have shown remarkable progress in per capita output. Collaborative research seems to be a key factor explaining the relative success of some European countries, in particular when it comes to publishing in top journals, attained predominantly through international collaborations.
    Keywords: research performance, publications, rankings, Europe, North-America, US
    JEL: A10 I20
    Date: 2010–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4785&r=sog

This nep-sog issue is ©2010 by Jonas Holmström. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
General information on the NEP project can be found at http://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.