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Age and complementarity in scientific collaboration

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  • Matthias Krapf

Abstract

I model research quality as the outcome of a CES production technology that uses human capital measured by publication records as inputs. Investigating a sample of scientific publications with two co-authors, I show that the CES-complementarity parameter is a function of the age difference of the authors. Complementarity is maximized if the age difference between the authors is about 10 years. Two theories are presented which may explain this finding. According to these models, older and younger researchers differ not only in their skill levels but also in the types of their skills and their interpersonal relationships. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

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  • Matthias Krapf, 2015. "Age and complementarity in scientific collaboration," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 751-781, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:49:y:2015:i:2:p:751-781
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-014-0885-8
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    Cited by:

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    2. Besancenot, Damien & Huynh, Kim & Serranito, Francisco, 2017. "Co-authorship and research productivity in economics: Assessing the assortative matching hypothesis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 61-80.
    3. de Mesnard, Louis, 2017. "Attributing credit to coauthors in academic publishing: The 1/n rule, parallelization, and team bonuses," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(2), pages 778-788.
    4. Enrico Miersch, 2020. "Research Evaluation of Financial Research - Evidence from a Survey," Credit and Capital Markets, Credit and Capital Markets, vol. 53(3), pages 383-419.
    5. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2013. "Six Decades of Top Economics Publishing: Who and How?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(1), pages 162-172, March.
    6. Bonaccorsi, Andrea & Belingheri, Paola & Secondi, Luca, 2021. "The research productivity of universities. A multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis on European institutions," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2).
    7. Damien Besancenot & Kim Van Huynh & Francisco Serranito, 2015. " Thou shalt not work alone ," CEPN Working Papers hal-01175758, HAL.
    8. Wu, Leyan & Yi, Fan & Bu, Yi & Lu, Wei & Huang, Yong, 2024. "Toward scientific collaboration: A cost-benefit perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    9. Basso, Antonella & di Tollo, Giacomo, 2022. "Prediction of UK research excellence framework assessment by the departmental h-index," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 296(3), pages 1036-1049.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Academic collaboration; CES technology; Team production; Human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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