| Abstract: |
This paper studies life cycle creativity among Nobel laureate economists using
citation data. We identify two distinct life cycles of scholarly creativity.
Experimental innovators work inductively, accumulating knowledge from
experience. Conceptual innovators work deductively, applying abstract
principles. We find that conceptual innovators do their most important work
earlier in their careers than experimental laureates. For instance, 75% of the
most extreme conceptual laureates published their single best work in the
first 10 years of their career, while none of the experimental laureates did.
Thus while experience benefits experimental innovators, newness to a field
benefits conceptual innovators. |