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Economists in the PITS?

Author

Listed:
  • Bruno S. Frey

Abstract

Academic economists today are caught in a "Publication Impossibility Theorem System" or PITS. In order to further their careers, they are required to publish in A-journals, but for the vast majority this is impossible because there are few slots open for them in such journals. Such academic competition maybe useful to generate hard work; however, there may be serious negative consequences: the wrong output may be produced in an inefficient way, the wrong people may be selected, and losers may react in a harmful way. This article suggests several ways to remedy this situation.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno S. Frey, 2009. "Economists in the PITS?," CREMA Working Paper Series 2009-29, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    • Handle: RePEc:cra:wpaper:2009-29
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Catch-22 for publish-and-perish
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2009-03-17 13:13:00
    2. Are we the PITS?
      by Ferg in Geary Behaviour Centre on 2009-03-16 15:35:00

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jean-Yves Lesueur, 2010. "La production scientifique des enseignants-chercheurs en économie : Quelques résultats économétriques issus du dispositif PES," Working Papers 1030, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    2. Gérard Charreaux, 2011. "«Cité ou oublié»:les supports de la notoriété des professeurs en sciences de gestion vus à travers Google Scholar," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 14(4), pages 129-166, December.
    3. Osterloh, Margit & Frey, Bruno S., 2020. "How to avoid borrowed plumes in academia," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    4. 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.
    5. Bruno S. Frey, 2009. "A multiplicity of approaches to institutional analysis. Applications to the government and the arts," IEW - Working Papers 420, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    6. repec:gig:chaktu:v:43:y:2014:i:2:p:33-46 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Bruno S. Frey, 2020. "What are the opportunities for future happiness research?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 67(1), pages 5-12, March.
    8. Sergio Da Silva, 2009. "Going parochial in the assessment of the Brazilian economics research output," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(4), pages 2832-2852.
    9. Ross Guest, 2009. "Seeking the elusive town and gown dialogue: the inaugural Australian Economic Forum," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 16(4), pages 107-116.
    10. Johansson, Dan & Karlsson, Johan & Malm, Arvid, 2020. "Family business—A missing link in economics?," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(1).
    11. 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.
    12. Jean-Yves Lesueur, 2010. "La production scientifique des enseignants-chercheurs en économie : Quelques résultats économétriques issus du dispositif PES," Post-Print halshs-00537859, HAL.
    13. Wolfram Elsner & Fred Lee, 2010. "Assessing economic research and the future of heterodox economics. Failures and alternatives of journals, departments, and scholars rankings," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 7(1), pages 31-41.
    14. Libman, A., 2011. "German Economics: Mechanisms of Transformation," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, issue 9, pages 129-149.
    15. Tüselmann, Heinz & Sinkovics, Rudolf R. & Pishchulov, Grigory, 2016. "Revisiting the standing of international business journals in the competitive landscape," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 487-498.
    16. Damien Besancenot & Kim Huynh & Radu Vranceanu, 2011. "A Matching Model of the Academic Publication Market," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 167(4), pages 708-725, December.
    17. Hensel, Przemysław G., 2021. "Reproducibility and replicability crisis: How management compares to psychology and economics – A systematic review of literature," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 577-594.
    18. 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.
    19. Gregory N. Price & Rhonda V. Sharpe, 2020. "Is the Economics Knowledge Production Function Constrained by Race in the USA?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(2), pages 614-629, June.
    20. Ho Fai Chan & Nikita Ferguson & David A. Savage & David Stadelmann & Benno Torgler, 2020. "Is Science Able to Perform Under Pressure? Insights from COVID-19," CREMA Working Paper Series 2020-07, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    21. Wolfram Elsner & Frederic S. Lee, 2010. "Editors' Introduction," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(5), pages 1333-1344, November.
    22. 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.
    23. Bagrat Yerznkyan, 2012. "Institutional Economics At The Crossroads: A View From Russia," Montenegrin Journal of Economics, Economic Laboratory for Transition Research (ELIT), vol. 8(1), pages 27-45.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • A1 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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