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The Production Economics of The Economics Production

Author

Listed:
  • Yushan Hu

    (Boston College)

  • Ben Li

    (Boston College)

Abstract

The arrival of the internet age forces academic journals to adjust their output margins: journal length, article length, and number of published articles. Using data from 41 major economics journals spanning 21 years (1994-2014), we find that both journals and articles are getting longer, but the page share of an individual article within its journal is shrinking. This pattern is consistent with a monopolistic competition model that features within-firm (journal) specialization. As predicted by the model, the share of an individual article shrinks less in general-interest journals and better ranked journals, where expertise is less substitutable across topics. In this discipline that emphasizes the benefits of specialization, the expertise underpinning its publications is indeed divided in a specialized fashion.

Suggested Citation

  • Yushan Hu & Ben Li, 2017. "The Production Economics of The Economics Production," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 924, Boston College Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:924
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Division of labor; history of economics; academic publishing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

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