nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2016‒04‒04
three papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Axventure AB

  1. Do large departments make academics more productive? Sorting and agglomeration economies in research By Clément Bosquet; Pierre-Philippe Combes
  2. The efficiency of economics departments reconsidered By Wohlrabe, Klaus; Friedrich, Elisabeth
  3. Networks in Economics: A Perspective on the Literature By Sanjeev Goyal; ; ;

  1. By: Clément Bosquet (Spatial Economic Research Center); Pierre-Philippe Combes (Département d'économie)
    Abstract: We study how departments’ characteristics impact academics’ quantity and quality of publications in economics. Individual time-varying characteristics and individual fixed-effects are controlled for. Departments’ characteristics have an explanatory power at least equal to a fourth of that of individual characteristics and possibly as high as theirs. An academic’s quantity and quality of publications in a field increase with the presence of other academics specialised in that field and with the share of the field’s output in the department. By contrast, department’s size, proximity to other large departments, homogeneity in terms of publication performance, presence of colleagues with connections abroad, and composition in terms of positions and age matter at least for some publication measures but only when individual fixed effects are not controlled for. This suggests a role for individual positive sorting where these characteristics only attract more able academics. A residual negative sorting between individuals’ and departments’ unobserved characteristics is simultaneously exhibited.
    Keywords: Research productivity; Peer effects; Local externalities
    Date: 2016–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6hol1fq95j9pqofr3i7rv5bssq&r=sog
  2. By: Wohlrabe, Klaus; Friedrich, Elisabeth
    Abstract: Employing data envelopment analysis and the free disposal hull approach, we evaluate the efficiency of 206 economics departments around the world. We use one input, full-time equivalents, and ten outputs which were both downloaded from RePEc website. By averaging over 1023 efficiency scores, obtained from all possible input-output combinations, we rank the economics departments. Furthermore, we provide some evidence that efficiency is not well correlated with reputation which is measured by the institutional ranking in RePEc.
    Keywords: efficiency; economics departments; data envelopment analysis; free disposal hull; RePEc
    JEL: I21 I23 J45
    Date: 2016–03–18
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:70123&r=sog
  3. By: Sanjeev Goyal; ; ;
    Abstract: It is instructive to view the study of networks in economics as a shift in paradigm, in the sense of Kuhn (1962). This perspective helps us locate the innovation that networks bring to economics, appreciate different strands of the research, assess the current state of the subject and identify the challenges.
    Date: 2015–02–24
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1548&r=sog

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