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The Impact of Bad Writing in Economics

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  • Laband, David N
  • Taylor, Christopher N

Abstract

The authors find significant style differences between articles written by economists for their professional journals and articles by the same economists in the Wall Street Journal. The authors find no evidence that style influences the professional success of economists, which suggests that the private rewards to improving the quality of writing are low. Indeed, each community of scholars has probably adopted a "professionally correct" writing style from which its members diverge little. However, scholars do alter their rhetorical style to communicate effectively with audiences other than the professional community. This suggests that intra- and intergroup (written) communication by economists is efficient. Copyright 1992 by Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Laband, David N & Taylor, Christopher N, 1992. "The Impact of Bad Writing in Economics," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 30(4), pages 673-688, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecinqu:v:30:y:1992:i:4:p:673-88
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    Cited by:

    1. Gregory Merlo & Katie Page & Julie Ratcliffe & Kate Halton & Nicholas Graves, 2015. "Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Barriers to Using Economic Evidence in Healthcare Decision Making and Strategies for Improving Uptake," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 303-309, June.
    2. Suzanne Heller Clain & Karen Leppel, 2018. "Patterns in Economics Journal Acceptances and Rejections," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 63(1), pages 94-109, March.
    3. Carlos Liard-Muriente & Christina Robinson, 2015. "The Write Experience in Economics: A Case Study from Central Connecticut State University," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 21(4), pages 453-465, November.
    4. David-Jan Jansen, 2008. "Has the Clarity of Humphrey-Hawkins Testimonies Affected Volatility in Financial Markets?," DNB Working Papers 185, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    5. Dowling, Michael & Hammami, Helmi & Zreik, Ousayna, 2018. "Easy to read, easy to cite?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 100-103.
    6. Feld, Jan & Lines, Corinna & Ross, Libby, 2023. "Writing Matters," IZA Discussion Papers 16571, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Leland B. Yeager, 1997. "Austrian Economics, Neoclassicism, and the Market Test," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 153-165, Fall.

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