nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2019‒07‒29
three papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Axventure AB

  1. Gender gaps in the evaluation of research: evidence from submissions to economics conferences By Laura Hospido; Carlos Sanz
  2. Is an Academic Career a Luxury Good? Student Debt and the Under-Representation of Minorities By Robert M. Feinberg;
  3. Success factors of academic journals in the digital age By Dilger, Alexander; Klus, Milan F.

  1. By: Laura Hospido (Banco de España and IZA); Carlos Sanz (Banco de España)
    Abstract: We study gender differences in the evaluation of submissions to economics conferences. Using data from the Annual Congress of the European Economic Association (2015-2017), the Annual Meeting of the Spanish Economic Association (2012-2017), and the Spring Meeting of Young Economists (2017), we find that all-female-authored papers are 3.2 p.p. (6.8%) less likely to be accepted than all-male-authored papers. This gap is present after controlling for (i) number of authors, (ii) referee fixed effects, (iii) field, (iv) cites of the paper at submission year, (v) previous publication record of the authors, and (vi) the quality of the affiliations of the authors. We also find that the gap is entirely driven by male referees—female referees evaluate male and female-authored papers similarly, but male referees are more favorable towards papers written by men.
    Keywords: gender, economics profession, academic labor market
    JEL: A1 J16
    Date: 2019–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1918&r=all
  2. By: Robert M. Feinberg;
    Abstract: Minority groups are under-represented in university teaching and research positions; they are employed in these positions at lower rates than would be indicated by college enrollments and (to a lesser extent) shares of doctoral degrees. Using data from the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates, from 2001 to 2016, this article examines whether some of this is due an under-representation of scholars with high student debt and fewer parental resources, choosing business or government careers rather than academia. Analyzing a large sample of new PhDs from 2001 to 2016, we find that student debt has limited the decision to enter academia, perhaps with long-term impacts for diversity of the profession. Examining the subsample of STEM PhDs, the same patterns emerge-- with perhaps stronger adverse impacts of debt on Black and Hispanic academic career choice.
    Keywords: Student debt; academic career; diversity; doctorates
    JEL: A2 I23 J24
    Date: 2019
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amu:wpaper:2019-05&r=all
  3. By: Dilger, Alexander; Klus, Milan F.
    Abstract: Digitalisation has opened up new opportunities for the dissemination of information. That is why many academic journals have started introducing online services since the early 1990s. Previous studies suggest that online availability and free access to articles are positively connected to the number of citations. However, little is known about the relative impact of the introduction of online services at the journal level and what provides a long-term competitive advantage in times of digital change. Based on panel data from SSCI-listed management journals from 1989 to 2016, we examine which journals have pioneered the digital field, to what extent first-mover advantages can be identified, and which journal characteristics are associated with citation-based performance indicators. Our results show that lower-ranked journals were the first to introduce digital services and were beneficiaries of the digital age. Furthermore, we find a significant connection between the international composition of author teams and performance indicators. Our analysis of the relationship between online availability as well as open access and performance contradicts previous studies as we find that significant correlations diminish when adequately controlling for journal-level effects.
    JEL: I23 L82 L86 M21 O33
    Date: 2019
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:umiodp:62019&r=all

This nep-sog issue is ©2019 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.