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What have economists been doing for the last 50 years? A text analysis of published academic research from 1960-2010

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Listed author(s):
  • Kosnik, Lea-Rachel

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a text based exploratory study of over 20,000 academic articles published in seven top research journals from 1960 - 2010. The goal is to investigate the general research foci of economists over the last fifty years, how (if at all) they have changed over time, and what trends (if any) can be discerned from a broad body of the top academic research in the field. Of the 19 JEL-code based fields studied in the literature, most have retained a constant level of attention over the time period of this study, however, a notable exception is that of macroeconomics which has undergone a significantly diminishing level of research attention in the last couple of decades, across all the journals under study; at the same time, the "microfoundations" of macroeconomic papers appears to be increasing. Other results on co-authorship trends and depth of research articles are also presented.

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File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2015-13
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File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/110191/1/823936821.pdf
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Article provided by Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) in its journal Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal.

Volume (Year): 9 (2015)
Issue (Month): ()
Pages: 1-38

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Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifweej:201513
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Keywords: text analysis; economics research; research diversity; topic analysis;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
  • B4 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology

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  1. David N. Laband & Robert D. Tollison, 2000. "Intellectual Collaboration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 632-661, June.
  2. Victor Fuchs, 2002. "Reflections on Economic Research and Public Policy John R. Commons Award Lecture, 2002," The American Economist, , vol. 46(1), pages 3-9, March.
  3. Ellis, Larry V. & Durden, Garey C., 1991. "Why economists rank their journals the way they do," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 265-270, August.
  4. Colander, David, 1989. "Research on the Economics Profession," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 137-148, Fall.
  5. Sanjeev Goyal & Marco J. van der Leij & José Luis Moraga-Gonzalez, 2006. "Economics: An Emerging Small World," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(2), pages 403-432, April.
  6. 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.
  7. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2015. "Age, Cohort and Co-Authorship," NBER Working Papers 20938, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  8. David Card & Stefano DellaVigna, 2013. "Nine Facts about Top Journals in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(1), pages 144-161, March.
  9. Paul C. Tetlock, 2007. "Giving Content to Investor Sentiment: The Role of Media in the Stock Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(3), pages 1139-1168, 06.
  10. Werner Antweiler & Murray Z. Frank, 2004. "Is All That Talk Just Noise? The Information Content of Internet Stock Message Boards," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(3), pages 1259-1294, 06.
  11. Kristie M. Engemann & Howard J. Wall, 2009. "A journal ranking for the ambitious economist," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue May, pages 127-140.
  12. Cropper, Maureen L., 2000. "Has Economic Research Answered the Needs of Environmental Policy?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 328-350, May.
  13. Michael A. Kelly & Stephen Bruestle, 2011. "Trend Of Subjects Published In Economics Journals 1969–2007," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(3), pages 658-673, 07.
  14. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2010. "What Drives Media Slant? Evidence From U.S. Daily Newspapers," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(1), pages 35-71, 01.
  15. David I. Stern, 2013. "Uncertainty Measures for Economics Journal Impact Factors," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(1), pages 173-189, March.
  16. Pantelis Kalaitzidakis & Theofanis P. Mamuneas & Thanasis Stengos, 2003. "Rankings of Academic Journals and Institutions in Economics," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(6), pages 1346-1366, December.
  17. E. Han Kim & Adair Morse & Luigi Zingales, 2006. "What Has Mattered to Economics Since 1970," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 189-202, Fall.
  18. Pardey, Philip G. & Smith, Vincent H. (ed.), 2004. "What's economics worth? Valuing policy research," IFPRI books, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), number 0-8018-7940-X.
  19. Kosnik, Lea-Rachel, 2014. "Determinants of contract completeness: An environmental regulatory application," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 198-208.
  20. Eagly, Robert V, 1975. "Economics Journals as a Communications Network," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 878-888, September.
  21. Claud L. Scroggs, 1975. "The Relevance of University Research and Extension Activities in Agricultural Economics to Agribusiness Firms," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 57(5), pages 883-888.
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Cited by:

  1. Rath, Katharina & Wohlrabe, Klaus, 2015. "Recent trends in co-authorship in economics: evidence from RePEc," MPRA Paper 66142, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  2. Zacchia, Giulia, 2016. "Segregation or homologation? Gender differences in recent Italian economic thought," MPRA Paper 72279, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  3. Wohlrabe, Klaus & Rath, Katharina, 2015. "Trends in economics publications represented by JEL categories between 2007 and 2013," MPRA Paper 66722, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  4. Katharina Rath & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2015. "Koautorenschaft in der Volkswirtschaftslehre," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 68(16), pages 51-53, 08.
  5. Lea Kosnik, 2016. "JEL Codes: What Do They Mean and Are They Used Consistently?," Working Papers 1011, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Department of Economics.
  6. Allen Bellas & Lea Kosnik, 2016. "Which Leading Journal Leads? Idea Diffusion in Economics Research Journals," Working Papers 1013, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Department of Economics.

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