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Prizes and Productivity: How Winning the Fields Medal Affects Scientific Output

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  • George J. Borjas
  • Kirk B. Doran

Abstract

Knowledge generation is key to economic growth, and scientific prizes are designed to encourage it. But how does winning a prestigious prize affect future output? We compare the productivity of Fields Medal recipients (winners of the top mathematics prize) to that of similarly brilliant contenders. The two groups have similar publication rates until the award year, after which the winners’ productivity declines. The medalists begin to “play the field,†studying unfamiliar topics at the expense of writing papers. It appears that tournaments can have large postprize effects on the effort allocation of knowledge producers.

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  • George J. Borjas & Kirk B. Doran, 2015. "Prizes and Productivity: How Winning the Fields Medal Affects Scientific Output," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(3), pages 728-758.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:50:y:2015:i:3:p:728-758
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    11. Jana Gallus & Bruno S. Frey, 2016. "Awards: A strategic management perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1699-1714, August.
    12. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Kosnik, Lea-Rachel, 2022. "Aging in Style: Does How We Write Matter?," IZA Discussion Papers 15739, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Bruno S. Frey & Anthony Gullo, 2020. "Sic transit gloria mundi: What remains of famous economists after their deaths?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 123(1), pages 283-298, April.
    14. Franklin G. Mixon & Benno Torgler & Kamal P. Upadhyaya, 2017. "Scholarly impact and the timing of major awards in economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(3), pages 1837-1852, September.
    15. Chan, Ho Fai & Frey, Bruno S. & Gallus, Jana & Torgler, Benno, 2014. "Academic honors and performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 188-204.
    16. Li, Teng & Lu, Runjing, 2022. "Social undermining as a dark side of symbolic awards: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    17. Erina Ytsma, 2022. "Effort and Selection Effects of Performance Pay in Knowledge Creation," CESifo Working Paper Series 10153, CESifo.
    18. Gaétan Rassenfosse & Tetiana Murovana & Wolf-Hendrik Uhlbach, 2023. "The effects of war on Ukrainian research," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Kyle Siler & Philippe Vincent-Lamarre & Cassidy R Sugimoto & Vincent Larivière, 2022. "Cumulative advantage and citation performance of repeat authors in scholarly journals," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(4), pages 1-17, April.
    20. Joao Ricardo Faria & Peter McAdam, 2014. "Does Tenure Make Researchers Less Productive? The Case of the “Specialist”," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0514, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    21. Wei Shi & Yan Zhang & Robert E. Hoskisson, 2017. "Ripple Effects of CEO Awards: Investigating the Acquisition Activities of Superstar CEOs' Competitors," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(10), pages 2080-2102, October.
    22. Jay Bhattacharya & Paul Bollyky & Jeremy D. Goldhaber-Fiebert & Geir H. Holom & Mikko Packalen & David M. Studdert, 2023. "Resting on Their Laureates? Research Productivity Among Winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine," NBER Working Papers 31352, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Ho Fai Chan & Franklin G. Mixon & Jayanta Sarkar & Benno Torgler, 2022. "Recognition and longevity: an examination of award timing and lifespan in Nobel laureates," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(6), pages 3629-3659, June.
    24. Yinyu Jin & Sha Yuan & Zhou Shao & Wendy Hall & Jie Tang, 2021. "Turing Award elites revisited: patterns of productivity, collaboration, authorship and impact," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(3), pages 2329-2348, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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