The Ph.D. Circle in Academic Economics

Daniel Klein

Econ Journal Watch, 2005, vol. 2, issue 1, 133-148

Abstract: Adam Smith doubted an invisible hand in academia, saying that academia was prone to clubbish foolishness. From economics-department webpages, I collected data on Ph.D. origination of economics faculty. Using a ranking of 200 economics departments world-wide, I find that at the top departments 80-90 percent of faculty got their PhD at a top-35 department. The set of top-35 departments draws 76 percent of faculty from itself. The top-35 dominate the entire profession. Economics is more a monocentric cultural pyramid than a polycentric market.

Keywords: Ph.D. origination; self-validation; academia; scholasticism; Adam Smith (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A13 A14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ejw:journl:v:2:y:2005:i:1:p:133-148

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