nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2014‒04‒11
four papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

  1. Ranking Economics and Econometrics ISI Journals by Quality Weighted Citations By Chia-Lin Chang; Michael McAleer
  2. A model of scholarly publishing with hybrid academic journals By Damien Besancenot; Radu Vranceanu
  3. Bibliometric Evaluation vs. Informed Peer Review: Evidence from Italy By Graziella Bertocchi; Alfonso Gambardella; Tullio Jappelli; Carmela A. Nappi; Franco Peracchi
  4. MIT's Rise to Prominence: Outline of a Collective Biography By Andrej Svorenčík

  1. By: Chia-Lin Chang (Department of Applied Economics, Department of Finance, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan); Michael McAleer (Econometric Institute, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands, Department of Quantitative Economics, Complutense University of Madrid, and Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University.)
    Abstract: The paper analyses academic journal quality and impact using quality weighted citations that are based on the widely-used Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science citations database (ISI). A recently developed Index of Citations Quality (ICQ), based on quality weighted citations, is used to analyse the top 276 Economics and top 10 Econometrics journals in the ISI Economics category using alternative quantifiable Research Assessment Measures (RAMs). It is shown that ICQ is a useful additional measure to the 2-Year Impact Factor (2YIF) and other well known RAMs available in ISI for the purpose of evaluating journal impact and quality, as well as ranking, of Economics and Econometrics journals as it contains information that has very low correlations with the information contained in alternative well-known RAMs. Among other findings, the top Econometrics journals have some of the highest ICQ scores in the ISI category of Economics.
    Keywords: Research assessment measures; Impact factors; Eigenfactor; Article Influence; Quality weighted citations; Index of citations quality; Economics journal rankings.
    JEL: C18 C81 Y10
    Date: 2014–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucm:doicae:1403&r=sog
  2. By: Damien Besancenot (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Paris 13 - CNRS : UMR7234 - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)); Radu Vranceanu (Economics Department - ESSEC Business School)
    Abstract: In April 2013, all of the major academic publishing houses moved thousands of journal titles to an original hybrid model, under which authors of accepted papers can choose between an expensive open access track and the traditional track available only to subscribers. This paper argues that authors might use publication strategy as a quality signaling device. The imperfect information game between authors and readers presents several types of Perfect Bayesian Equilibria, including a separating equilibrium in which only authors of high quality papers are driven toward the open access track. The publishing house will choose the open-access publication fee that supports the emergence of the highest return equilibrium. Journal structures will evolve over time according to the journals' accessibility - quality profiles.
    Keywords: Academic publishing ; Open access ; Knowledge di¤usion ; Imperfect information ; Signaling
    Date: 2014–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00971541&r=sog
  3. By: Graziella Bertocchi; Alfonso Gambardella; Tullio Jappelli; Carmela A. Nappi; Franco Peracchi
    Abstract: A relevant question for the organization of large scale research assessments is whether bibliometric evaluation and informed peer review where reviewers know where the work was published, yield similar results. It would suggest, for instance, that less costly bibliometric evaluation might - at least partly - replace informed peer review, or that bibliometric evaluation could reliably monitor research in between assessment exercises. We draw on our experience of evaluating Italian research in Economics, Business and Statistics, where almost 12,000 publications dated 2004-2010 were assessed. A random sample from the available population of journal articles shows that informed peer review and bibliometric analysis produce similar evaluations of the same set of papers. Whether because of independent convergence in assessment, or the influence of bibliometric information on the community of reviewers, the implication for the organization of these exercises is that these two approaches are substitutes.
    Date: 2013–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:093&r=sog
  4. By: Andrej Svorenčík
    Abstract: The core question of MIT Economics Department’s history – why has MIT economics risen to prominence so quickly – requires an approach to history of economics that focuses on the role of the networks within which economists operate, their ideas diffuse, and gain scientific credit. By reconstructing the network of MIT economics Ph.Ds. and their advisors, this paper furnishes not just evidence of how MIT rose to prominence as documented by the numerous ties of Nobel Laureates, Clark Medalists, elected officials of the AEA or the Council of Economic Advisors to the MIT network. The MIT Economics Department is also revealed as a community of self-replicating economists who are to a large extent trained by a few key advisers who were mostly trained at MIT as well. MIT exhibits a large share of graduates who remain in American academia that is disproportionate to the number of graduates it has produced. It is hypothesized that this has been an important factor in MIT’s rise to prominence. On a methodological level this paper introduces prosopography or collective biography, a well-established historiographic method, to the field of history of economics.
    Keywords: MIT, networks of economists, advisor-advisee relations, prosopography, collective biography
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2013-19&r=sog

This nep-sog issue is ©2014 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.