Trends in Economic Research: An International Perspective

Ana Rute Cardoso, Paulo Guimaraes and Klaus Zimmermann ()

No 4785, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Given the recent efforts in several countries to reorganize the research institutional setting to improve research productivity, our analysis addresses the following questions: To which extent has the recent awareness over international quality standards in economics around the world been reflected in research performance? How have individual countries fared? Do research quantity and quality indicators tell us the same story? We concentrate on trends taking place since the beginning of the 1990s and rely on a very comprehensive database of scientific journals, to provide a cross-country comparison of the evolution of research in economics. Our findings indicate that Europe is catching up with the US but, in terms of influential research, the US maintains a dominant position. The main continental European countries, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, experienced some of the largest growth rates in economic scientific output. Other European countries, namely the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden, have shown remarkable progress in per capita output. Collaborative research seems to be a key factor explaining the relative success of some European countries, in particular when it comes to publishing in top journals, attained predominantly through international collaborations.

Keywords: Europe; rankings; publications; research performance; North-America; US (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 I20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2010-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec, nep-eur and nep-sog
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

Published - published in: Kyklos, 2010, 63 (4), 479-494; cited in The Economist , February 2011

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Related works:
Working Paper: Trends in Economic Research: An International Perspective (2015)
Journal Article: Trends in Economic Research: An International Perspective (2010)
Working Paper: Trends in economic research: An international perspective (2010)
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