Climbing the Ivory Tower: How Socio-Economic Background Shapes Academia

Ran Abramitzky, Lena Greska, Pérez, Santiago, Joseph Price, Carlo Schwarz and Fabian Waldinger

No 19814, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We explore how socio-economic background shapes academia, collecting the largest dataset of U.S. academics’ backgrounds and research output spanning seven decades. We find that individuals from poorer backgrounds are severely underrepresented, especially in the humanities and at elite universities. The socio-economic composition of academics has remained remarkably constant over time. Father’s occupation predicts professors’ discipline choice and, thus, the direction of research. While we find no differences in the average number of publications, academics from poorer backgrounds are both more likely to not publish at all and to have outstanding publication records, making them riskier hires. Academics from poorer backgrounds also introduce more novel scientific concepts, but are less likely to receive recognition, as measured by citations and Nobel Prize nominations and awards.

Keywords: Science; Academia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-12
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