Concentration of power at the editorial boards of Economics journals

Lorenzo Ductor and Bauke Visser

No 21/01, ThE Papers from Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada.

Abstract: Evolutionary arguments and incentive theory point to the importance of variety and rotation of editorial board members to stimulate innovative research. Using a unique dataset covering more than 100 economics journals over the period 1990-2011, we document trends in the incidence of multiple positions, editorial duration and institutional background for more than 6,100 board members. We put these figures into perspective using the literature on boards of directors and measures of market concentration. The picture that emerges is of a discipline with a high concentration of institutional and individual power, especially at the more prestigious journals. Evidence suggests this indeed matters; there is a strong negative association between editorial duration and journal impact.

Keywords: editorial boards; journals; concentration; power; busyness; innovation; impact (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A14 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2021-03-28
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hpe and nep-sog
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Concentration of power at the editorial boards of economics journals (2023)
Working Paper: Concentration of power at the editorial boards of economics journals (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gra:wpaper:21/01

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