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Are Researchers Penalized for Free Speech?

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  • Gulati, Kris
  • Palladini, Lorenzo

Abstract

How free is freedom of speech in academia? In recent years, there has been a growing concern that academics may be suppressing some of their beliefs for fear of adverse outcomes on their careers. By analyzing a unique data set of US researchers across various fields from 2000 to 2021, we present the first evidence of a citation penalty faced by researchers who gain media coverage for expressing their opinion on divisive topics. Employing a staggered difference-in-differences methodology, we observe that the work of academics involved in free speech incidents is less likely to be cited compared to journal articles of other scholars with comparable quality and characteristics. Thus, this study sheds light on the reality of academic free speech, which plays a fundamental role in politics, society, and innovation.

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  • Gulati, Kris & Palladini, Lorenzo, 2023. "Are Researchers Penalized for Free Speech?," OSF Preprints hgqtw, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:hgqtw
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/hgqtw
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    2. Pierre Azoulay & Christian Fons-Rosen & Joshua S. Graff Zivin, 2019. "Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(8), pages 2889-2920, August.
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