IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecaffa/v45y2025i1p123-131.html

Not just the top five journals: A recipe for European economists

Author

Listed:
  • Magnus Henrekson
  • Lars Jonung
  • Mats Lundahl

Abstract

We provide a critical analysis of the adoption of the US ‘top-five model’ by European economics academia. This model prioritizes publications in five elite journals, heavily influencing the career trajectories of doctoral students and researchers. It highlights the inefficiencies and social costs of this system, including the overemphasis on narrowly focused research topics and methodologies that align with US editorial preferences. This undermines innovation, interdisciplinary exploration, and economic research on issues of high social relevance in the home countries. The dominance of US institutions in setting these standards, disadvantages European scholars. We propose reforms for more diverse evaluation criteria that account for local relevance and broader scholarly contributions, suggesting that such changes would better align with European academic and societal needs. These adjustments aim to create a more balanced and impactful academic landscape while fostering a wider range of meaningful research outputs.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Magnus Henrekson & Lars Jonung & Mats Lundahl, 2025. "Not just the top five journals: A recipe for European economists," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 123-131, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:45:y:2025:i:1:p:123-131
    DOI: 10.1111/ecaf.12690
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12690
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ecaf.12690?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arthur E. Attema & Werner B.F. Brouwer & Job Van Exel, 2014. "Your Right Arm For A Publication In Aer?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(1), pages 495-502, January.
    2. Marco Novarese & Andrea Pozzali, 2010. "Heterodox Economics and the Scientist's Role in Society," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(5), pages 1614-1635, November.
    3. Peter Andre & Armin Falk, 2021. "What’s Worth Knowing? Economists’ Opinions about Economics," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 102, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    4. James J. Heckman & Sidharth Moktan, 2020. "Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(2), pages 419-470, June.
    5. Simon Ek & Magnus Henrekson, 2019. "The Geography and Concentration of Authorship in the Top Five: Implications For European Economics," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 66(2), pages 215-245, May.
    6. Bruno Frey, 2009. "Economists in the PITS?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 56(4), pages 335-346, December.
    7. François Brischoux & Frédéric Angelier, 2015. "Academia’s never-ending selection for productivity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 103(1), pages 333-336, April.
    8. Jishnu Das & Quy-Toan Do, 2020. "US and them - The geography of academic research," CEPR Press Book Chapters, in: Sebastian Galliani & Ugo Panizza (ed.), Publishing and Measuring Success in Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 111-114, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    9. Powdthavee, Nattavudh & Riyanto, Yohanes E. & Knetsch, Jack L., 2018. "Lower-rated publications do lower academics’ judgments of publication lists: Evidence from a survey experiment of economists," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 33-44.
    10. John P. Conley & Ali Sina Onder, 2014. "The Research Productivity of New PhDs in Economics: The Surprisingly High Non-success of the Successful," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(3), pages 205-216, Summer.
    11. Duflo, Esther, 2017. "The Economist as Plumber," CEPR Discussion Papers 11881, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    12. Magnus Henrekson & Daniel Waldenström, 2011. "How Should Research Performance Be Measured? A Study Of Swedish Economists," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 79(6), pages 1139-1156, December.
    13. George A. Akerlof, 2020. "Sins of Omission and the Practice of Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(2), pages 405-418, June.
    14. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2019. "Shackling the Identification Police?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(4), pages 1016-1026, April.
    15. Bruno S. Frey & Reiner Eichenberger, 1993. "American and European Economics and Economists," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 185-193, Fall.
    16. Marcella Corsi & Carlo D'Ippoliti & Giulia Zacchia, 2018. "A Case Study of Pluralism in Economics: The Heterodox Glass Ceiling in Italy," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 172-189, April.
    17. Claudius Gräbner & Birte Strunk, 2020. "Pluralism in economics: its critiques and their lessons," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 311-329, October.
    18. Engelbert Stockhammer & Quirin Dammerer & Sukriti Kapur, 2021. "The Research Excellence Framework 2014, journal ratings and the marginalisation of heterodox economics," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 45(2), pages 243-269.
    19. Esther Duflo, 2017. "The Economist as Plumber," NBER Working Papers 23213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Esther Duflo, 2017. "Richard T. Ely Lecture: The Economist as Plumber," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 1-26, May.
    21. Joshua S. Gans & George B. Shepherd, 1994. "How Are the Mighty Fallen: Rejected Classic Articles by Leading Economists," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 165-179, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Henrekson, Magnus & Jonung, Lars & Lundahl, Mats, 2025. "What Kind of Economists Do We Want? From a One-Track to a Two-Track Mind," Working Paper Series 1530, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Henrekson, Magnus & Jonung, Lars & Lundahl, Mats, 2025. "What Kind of Economists Do We Want? From a One-Track to a Two-Track Mind," Working Paper Series 1530, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    2. Forslund, Eva & Henrekson, Magnus, 2022. "The Virtues of Native Discourse: Striking a Balance Between English and the Native Language," Working Paper Series 1442, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    3. John Gibson, 2021. "The micro‐geography of academic research: How distinctive is economics?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 467-484, September.
    4. Simon Ek & Magnus Henrekson, 2019. "The Geography and Concentration of Authorship in the Top Five: Implications For European Economics," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 66(2), pages 215-245, May.
    5. repec:osf:osfxxx:nwp8k_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Rehse, Dominik & Tremöhlen, Felix, 2022. "Fostering participation in digital contact tracing," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    7. Justman, Moshe, 2018. "Randomized controlled trials informing public policy: Lessons from project STAR and class size reduction," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 167-174.
    8. Steve J. Bickley & Ho Fai Chan & Benno Torgler, 2022. "Artificial intelligence in the field of economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(4), pages 2055-2084, April.
    9. Ankel-Peters, Jörg & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2025. "Rural electrification, the credibility revolution, and the limits of evidence-based policy," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(1), pages 70-81, February.
    10. Fonseca Morello, Thiago, 2022. "Subsidization of mechanized tillage as an alternative to fire-based land preparation by smallholders: An economic appraisal of the case of southwestern Brazilian Amazon," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    11. Jan Schulz & Kerstin Hötte & Daniel M. Mayerhoffer, 2024. "Pluralist economics in an era of polycrisis," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 201-218, September.
    12. Rao, Vijayendra, 2020. "Evidence-based development needs a diversity of tools, with a bottom-up process of “embedded” dialogue," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    13. Syed Hasan & Robert Breunig, 2021. "Article length and citation outcomes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 7583-7608, September.
    14. Rodrigo Dorantes-Gilardi & Aurora A. Ramírez-Álvarez & Diana Terrazas-Santamaría, 2023. "Is there a differentiated gender effect of collaboration with super-cited authors? Evidence from junior researchers in economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(4), pages 2317-2336, April.
    15. Saileshsingh Gunessee & Tom Lane, 2020. "Is Economics An Experimental Science? A Textbook Perspective," Discussion Papers 2020-16, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    16. Sindzingre, Alice, 2021. "Truth vs. justification: Contrasting heterodox and mainstream thinking on development via the example of austerity in Africa," IPE Working Papers 155/2021, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    17. Tatsuru Kikuchi, 2025. "Stochastic Boundaries in Spatial General Equilibrium: A Diffusion-Based Approach to Causal Inference with Spillover Effects," Papers 2508.06594, arXiv.org.
    18. Krause, Philipp & Hernández Licona, Gonzalo, 2020. "From experimental findings to evidence-based policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    19. Eugene Bardach, 2025. "Dubious Evidence, Valuable Information," Evaluation Review, , vol. 49(5), pages 799-813, October.
    20. Maria Paula Gerardino & Stephan Litschig & Dina Pomeranz, 2024. "Distortion by Audit: Evidence from Public Procurement," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 71-108, October.
    21. Wei Yang Tham & Joseph Staudt & Elisabeth Ruth Perlman & Stephanie D. Cheng, 2024. "Scientific Talent Leaks Out of Funding Gaps," Papers 2402.07235, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:45:y:2025:i:1:p:123-131. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0265-0665 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.