| Abstract: |
The paper contributes to the debate on cumulative advantage effects in
academic research by examining top performance in research and its persistence
over time, using a panel dataset comprising the publications of biomedical and
exact scientists at the KU Leuven in the period 1992-2001. We study the
selection of researchers into productivity categories and analyse how they
switch between these categories over time. About 25% achieves top performance
at least once, while 5% is persistently top. Analysing the hazard to first and
subsequent top performance shows strong support for an accumulative process.
Rank, gender, hierarchical position and past performance are highly
significant explanatory factors. |