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Do editors favor their students' work? A test of undue favoritism in top economics journals

Author

Listed:
  • Michael J Hilmer

    (San Diego State University)

  • Christiana E Hilmer

    (San Diego State University)

Abstract

This paper asks whether students with top journal editors as dissertation advisors observe statistical advantages in publishing over students without top journal editors as dissertation advisors. We analyze early-career publication histories of nearly 2,000 graduates from top 30 economics programs in the early 1990s. We find that students who work with QJE editors average significantly higher values over four common measures of general research productivity than otherwise similar students and that students of QJE editors average significantly more AER and QJE publications. We further find that both students of ReStat editors and students of Econometrica editors average statistically more ReStat articles. Our results appear to reject the argument that top journal editors exhibit undue favoritism in the publication process with regards to their former students.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael J Hilmer & Christiana E Hilmer, 2011. "Do editors favor their students' work? A test of undue favoritism in top economics journals," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 31(1), pages 53-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-10-00651
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sauer, Raymond D, 1988. "Estimates of the Returns to Quality and Coauthorship in Economic Academia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(4), pages 855-866, August.
    2. Stephen Wu, 2007. "Recent publishing trends at the AER, JPE and QJE," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 59-63.
    3. Siegfried, John J., 1994. "Trends in institutional affiliation of authors who publish in the three leading general interest economics journals," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 375-386.
    4. Laband, David N & Piette, Michael J, 1994. "Favoritism versus Search for Good Papers: Empirical Evidence Regarding the Behavior of Journal Editors," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(1), pages 194-203, February.
    5. Marshall H. Medoff, 2003. "Editorial Favoritism in Economics?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(2), pages 425-434, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Faria, João Ricardo & Goel, Rajeev K. & Manage, Neela D., 2023. "The path of economics research production: Insights into the seesaw between theory and empirics," Kiel Working Papers 2238, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Faria João R & Mixon Franklin G & Upadhyaya Kamal P, 2018. "Editor Reputation and Journal Quality: The Case of Regional Economic Association Journals," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Lars Hornuf & Gül Yüksel, 2022. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Investments: A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9724, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dissertation Advisor; Research Productivity;

    JEL classification:

    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets

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