A menagerie of rankings: a look in RePEc’s factory

Laurent Linnemer

Scientometrics, 2024, vol. 129, issue 1, No 11, 372 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper provides an overview of RePEc a digital platform for the dissemination of research in economics. Specifically, the focus is on RePEc’s main author ranking, which aggregates 36 different rankings based on a range of criteria. I first describe the logic behind the ranking and then presents some key descriptive statistics on the top 5% of authors. Notably, the ranking is dominated by English-speaking authors, particularly those affiliated with institutions in the USA. Moreover, less than 9% of authors are female, while around 6% are deceased. Among the living authors, the estimated average age is 60, with over 21% of them aged 70 or above. Next, I discuss the aggregation of the 36 rankings using the harmonic mean—RePEc’s preferred method. Some counterintuitive properties are highlighted. Finally, I propose a simpler ranking system based on two criteria—number of journal pages and number of citations—that weight journals and citations according to their qualities and also correct for the number of authors.

Keywords: Economists; RePEc; Rankings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A14 L11 R32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Working Paper: A Menagerie of Rankings: A Look in RePEc’s Factory (2023)
Working Paper: A Menagerie of Rankings: A Look in RePEc's Factory (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:scient:v:129:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-023-04879-z

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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-023-04879-z

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