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How Do Editors Select Papers, and How Good are They at Doing It?

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Hofmeister

    () (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany)

  • Matthias Krapf

    () (Department of Business Administration, University Wien, Austria)

Abstract

Using data on the B.E. Journals that rank articles into four quality tiers, this paper examines the accuracy of the research evaluation process in economics. We find that submissions by authors with strong publication records and authors affiliated with highly-ranked institutions are significantly more likely to be published in higher tiers. Citation success as measured by RePEc statistics also depends heavily on the overall research records of the authors. Finally and most importantly, we measure how successful the B.E. Journals’ editors and their reviewers have been at assigning articles to quality tiers. While, on average, they are able to distinguish more influential from less influential manuscripts, we also observe many assignments that are not compatible with the belief that research quality is reflected by the number of citations.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Hofmeister & Matthias Krapf, 2011. "How Do Editors Select Papers, and How Good are They at Doing It?," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2011-37, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    • Handle: RePEc:knz:dpteco:1137
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Card & Stefano DellaVigna, 2017. "What do Editors Maximize? Evidence from Four Leading Economics Journals," NBER Working Papers 23282, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Sandro Mendonça & João Pereira & Manuel Ennes Ferreira, 2018. "Gatekeeping African studies: what does “editormetrics” indicate about journal governance?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(3), pages 1513-1534, December.
    3. David Card & Stefano DellaVigna, 2020. "What Do Editors Maximize? Evidence from Four Economics Journals," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(1), pages 195-217, March.
    4. KRAPF, Matthias & SCHLÄPFER, Jörg, 2012. "How Nobel Laureates Would Perform In The Handelsblatt Ranking," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 12(3).
    5. Besancenot Damien & Faria João R. & Huynh Kim V., 2014. "Congestion of Academic Journals Under Papers’ Imperfect Selection," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 1145-1167, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Manuel Ennes Ferreira & Sandro Mendonça & João Pereira, 2018. "Gatekeeping African studies: What does “editormetrics” indicate about journal governance?," Working Papers Department of Economics 2018/07, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Peer Review; Research Evaluation; Citations; Journal Quality;

    JEL classification:

    • A10 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - General
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics

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