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The Gift and Open Science

Author

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  • Henrik Egbert

    (Anhalt University of Applied Sciences)

Abstract

This short note illustrates how social structures and behavior of scientists in the societal sub-system of open science resemble patterns analyzed in the Gift, an essay written by Marcel Mauss nearly 100 years ago. The presented analysis goes beyond existing interpretations of gift giving in science. The latter has mainly focused on the exchange of knowledge and citations. I argue that the Gift explains also identity, competition, co-opetition, rituals, and punishment. Mauss’s Gift is seen as a complementary model to existing economic and sociological approaches regularly used to analyze structures and behavior in open science. By accentuating such an anthropological approach, I conclude that the Gift provides explanations of the stability and the expansion of the open science community.

Suggested Citation

  • Henrik Egbert, 2018. "The Gift and Open Science," Bulgarian Economic Papers bep-2018-04, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski - Bulgaria // Center for Economic Theories and Policies at Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, revised Apr 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:sko:wpaper:bep-2018-04
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    File URL: https://www.uni-sofia.bg/index.php/eng/content/download/190445/1310782/file/BEP-2018-04.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    open science; scientific competition; gift; Marcel Mauss; reciprocity; anthropology of open science;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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