nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2015‒02‒28
four papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Axventure AB

  1. Age, Cohort and Co-Authorship By Hamermesh, Daniel S.
  2. Determinants of Co-Authorship in Economics: The French Case By Francisco SERRANITO
  3. Endogenous selection into single and coauthorships by surname initials in economics and management By David Ong ; Ho Fai Chan ; Benno Torgler ; Yu (Alan) Yang
  4. Gender Differences in Attitudes Towards Competition: Evidence from the Italian Scientific Qualification By Maria De Paola ; Michela Ponzo ; Vincenzo Scoppa

  1. By: Hamermesh, Daniel S. (University of Texas at Austin, Royal Holloway )
    Abstract: The previously documented trend toward more co- and multi-authored research in economics is partly (perhaps 20 percent) due to different research styles of scholars in different birth cohorts (of different ages). Most of the trend reflects profession-wide changes in research style. Older scholars show greater variation in their research styles than younger ones, who use similar numbers of co-authors in each published paper; but there are no differences across cohorts in scholars' willingness to work with different coauthors. There are only small gender differences in the impacts of age on numbers of coauthors, but substantial differences on choice of coauthors.
    Keywords: sociology of economics, bibliometrics, rewards in economics
    JEL: A11 J01 B31
    Date: 2015–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8828&r=sog
  2. By: Francisco SERRANITO
    Date: 2015
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:leo:wpaper:1962&r=sog
  3. By: David Ong ; Ho Fai Chan ; Benno Torgler ; Yu (Alan) Yang
    Abstract: Many prior studies suggest that alphabetic ordering confers professional advantages on authors with earlier surname initials. However, these studies assume that authors select into coauthorships without regard to the incentives identified. We consider the alternative and develop a model of endogenous selection into single and coauthorships for economics, which uses alphabetical ordering. We then tested it with authorship data from economics, with management (which does not use alphabetical ordering) as a benchmark. We predicted that lower “quality” authors with earlier surnames would be less desirable as coauthors, while higher quality authors with later surnames would have a lower desire to coauthor. Both types of authors are therefore more likely to single- author. Furthermore, higher quality authors with earlier surnames should have more and better coauthoring options. Consistent with our predictions, we found citation ranks were increasing on surnames for single-authored works and decreasing for coauthored in economics, both absolutely and compared to management. Also as predicted, this effect is driven by lower-tier journals in which there is likely a thinner market for coauthors. Furthermore, comparing citation ranks of first-authors of alphabetical and nonalphabetical papers shows that the “larger share” effect of being first is dominated by the “smaller pie” effect of selection from second authors who will accept a smaller share.
    Keywords: alphabetic order effect; citations; coauthorships; endogenous teams; contests
    JEL: J01 J15 J44
    Date: 2015–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cra:wpaper:2014-20&r=sog
  4. By: Maria De Paola (Università della Calabria and IZA ); Michela Ponzo (Università di Napoli and CSEF ); Vincenzo Scoppa (Università della Calabria and IZA )
    Abstract: We exploit a natural experiment based on the Italian promotion system for associate and full professor positions to investigate gender differences in the willingness to enter competition. Using data on about 42,000 professors and controlling for productivity and a number of individual and field characteristics, we find that females have a lower probability of applying for competition of about 4 percentage points. The determinants of this gap seem to be gender differences in risk-aversion and self-confidence and women’s fear of discrimination: the lower tendency to enter competition is especially relevant for women in the lower tail of the distribution of scientific productivity and in fields in which productivity is not easily measurable; furthermore, women are less likely to apply for promotion in fields in which promotions of females in the past were rare.
    Keywords: Attitudes towards competition; Gender gaps; Risk-aversion; Self-confidence; Discrimination; Academic Promotions; Natural Experiment.
    JEL: J71 M51 J45 J16 D72 D78
    Date: 2015–02–20
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:391&r=sog

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