Reputation versus Influence: The Evidence from Textbook References

William Breit and John Huston
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William Breit: Trinity University
John Huston: Trinity University

Eastern Economic Journal, 1997, vol. 23, issue 4, 451-456

Abstract: This paper suggests a new tool for evaluating the influence of living economists: references in recent introductory economics textbooks. A distinction is made between influence and reputation. Lists of names generated by standard citation indexes may be useful as a proxy for "reputation." Using references in recent introductory textbooks the authors generate a list of names that deviates in significant ways from lists derived from the Social Science Citation Index. It is argued that textbook references are the better test of an economist's influence. Empirically distinguishing between reputation and influence demonstrates that influence may be and often is distinct from reputation.

Keywords: Citations; Economics; Economists (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:23:y:1997:i:4:p:451-456

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