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Creative Careers: The Life Cycles of Nobel Laureates in Economics

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Bruce A. Weinberg
David W. Galenson

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Abstract

This paper studies life cycle creativity among Nobel laureate economists. We identify two distinct life cycles of scholarly creativity. Experimental innovators work inductively, accumulating knowledge from experience. Conceptual innovators work deductively, applying abstract principles. We find that conceptual innovators do their most important work earlier in their careers than experimental laureates. For instance, our estimates imply that the probability that the most conceptual laureate publishes his single best work peaks at age 25 compared to the mid-50s for the most experimental laureate. Thus while experience benefits experimental innovators, newness to a field benefits conceptual innovators.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11799.

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Date of creation: Nov 2005
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11799

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
O30 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - General
B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals

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  1. David W. Galenson, 2004. "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young or Old Innovator: Measuring the Careers of Modern Novelists," NBER Working Papers 10213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Matthew D. Rablen & Andrew J. Oswald, 2007. "Mortality and Immortality," IZA Discussion Papers 2560, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  2. Barthel, Jens, 2008. "Can age discrimination be justified with a lower productivity of older workers?," MPRA Paper 14682, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  3. David W. Galenson, 2004. "One Hit Wonders: Why Some of the Most Important Works of Modern Art are Not by Important Artists," NBER Working Papers 10885, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Paul Oyer, 2006. "The Macro-Foundations of Microeconomics: Initial Labor Market Conditions and Long-Term Outcomes for Economists," NBER Working Papers 12157, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Joshua Aizenman & Ilan Noy, 2007. "Prizes for basic research: Human capital, economic might and the shadow of history," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 261-282, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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