Not Just the Top Five Journals: A Recipe for European Economists

Magnus Henrekson (), Lars Jonung () and Mats Lundahl ()
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Mats Lundahl: Development Economics, Stockholm School of Economics

No 1519, Working Paper Series from Research Institute of Industrial Economics

Abstract: We provide a critical analysis of the adoption of the US ‘top-five model’ by European economics academia. This model prioritizes publications in five elite journals, heavily influencing the career trajectories of doctoral students and researchers. It highlights the inefficiencies and social costs of this system, including the overemphasis on narrowly focused research topics and methodologies that align with US editorial preferences. This undermines innovation, interdisciplinary exploration, and economic research on issues of high social relevance in the home countries. The dominance of US institutions in setting these standards, disadvantages European scholars. We propose reforms for more diverse evaluation criteria that account for local relevance and broader scholarly contributions, suggesting that such changes would better align with European academic and societal needs. These adjustments aim to create a more balanced and impactful academic landscape while fostering a wider range of meaningful research outputs.

Keywords: Criteria for hiring and promotion; European economics; Pluralism; Research productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A14 I23 J44 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2025-01-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme, nep-hpe, nep-pke and nep-sog
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Journal Article: Not just the top five journals: A recipe for European economists (2025)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1519

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