Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five

James J. Heckman () and Sidharth Moktan ()
Additional contact information
James J. Heckman: University of Chicago
Sidharth Moktan: University of Chicago

No 11868, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: 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. The appendices for this paper are available here: https://hceconomics.uchicago.edu/file-upload/appendices-publishing-and-promotion-economics-tyranny-top-five

Keywords: economics publishing; career concerns; tenure and promotion practices; citations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A14 I23 J44 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 61 pages
Date: 2018-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul, nep-hpe, nep-lma and nep-sog
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (46)

Published - published in: Journal of Economic Literature, 58 (2), 2020, 419 - 70

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https://docs.iza.org/dp11868.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Chapter: Publishing and promotion in economics - The tyranny of the Top Five (2020)
Journal Article: Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five (2020)
Working Paper: Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five (2018)
Working Paper: Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five (2018)
Working Paper: Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five (2018)
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