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The Geography and Concentration of Authorship in the Top Five: Implications For European Economics

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  • Simon Ek
  • Magnus Henrekson

Abstract

We study to what degree authors who publish in the five most prestigious journals in economics have previously published there and in which world region they are based. Although still high, the concentration of United States‐based and previously published top‐five authors has decreased. This trend is driven by increased co‐authorship between USA and non‐USA scholars and between scholars with and without previous top‐five articles. Only around 5% of all articles each year are written solely by first‐time authors from outside the United States, and this share has not increased since the mid‐1990s. Against this background, we argue that European institutions should be wary of putting too much emphasis on publishing in these five journals. Both the advancement and diversity of the economics discipline may otherwise suffer.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scotjp:v:66:y:2019:i:2:p:215-245
    DOI: 10.1111/sjpe.12208
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    Cited by:

    1. Aigner, Ernest & Greenspon, Jacob & Rodrik, Dani, 2025. "The global distribution of authorship in economics journals," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    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. Syed Hasan & Robert Breunig, 2021. "Article length and citation outcomes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 7583-7608, September.
    4. 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.
    5. Cloos, Janis & Greiff, Matthias & Rusch, Hannes, 2020. "Geographical Concentration and Editorial Favoritism within the Field of Laboratory Experimental Economics (RM/19/029-revised-)," Research Memorandum 014, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    6. Cloos, Janis & Greiff, Matthias & Rusch, Hannes, 2019. "Geographical Concentration and Editorial Favoritism within the Field of Laboratory Experimental Economics," Research Memorandum 029, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    7. Jelnov, Pavel & Weiss, Yoram, 2022. "Influence in economics and aging," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Grossmann, Axel & Lee, Allissa, 2022. "An analysis of finance journal accessibility: Author inclusivity and journal quality," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology

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