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on Sociology of Economics |
| By: | Marco Nieddu; Roberto Nisticò; Lorenzo Pandolfi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how publication-based tenure-track systems affect the careers of Ph.D. graduates in Economics. We leverage a 2010 reform in Italy that replaced open-ended assistant professor (AP) positions with fixed-term contracts and introduced publication minimum requirements for career advancement. Using survey and administrative data, along with a Difference-in-Differences Event-Study approach comparing Economics to less academicallyoriented fields, we find that the reform significantly reduced the likelihood of Economics Ph.D. graduates entering academia in Italy, while increasing transitions to academic careers abroad or to public and private sector jobs. Talented graduates were disproportionately affected, revealing negative selection into Italian academia following the removal of permanent AP positions. Despite these trends, tenure-track hires tend to publish more in high-ranking journals, suggesting that the reform’s incentive effects may partly mitigate its negative selection effects. |
| Keywords: | academic careers, fertility, publications, tenure |
| JEL: | I23 J13 J24 J71 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12090 |
| By: | Alberto Baccini; Lucio Barabesi; Carlo Debernardi |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of the global financial crisis on the shape of economics as a discipline by analyzing EconLit-indexed journals from 2006 to 2020 using a multilayer network approach. We consider two types of social relationships among journals, based on shared editors (interlocking editorship) and shared authors (interlocking authorship), as well as two forms of intellectual proximity, derived from bibliographic coupling and textual similarity. These four dimensions are integrated using Similarity Network Fusion to produce a unified similarity network from which journal communities are identified. Comparing the field in 2006, 2012, and 2019 reveals a high degree of structural continuity. Our findings suggest that, despite changes in research topics after the crisis, fundamental social and intellectual relationships among journals have remained remarkably stable. Editorial networks, in particular, continue to shape hierarchies and legitimize knowledge production. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.09079 |
| By: | Stefan Buechele (University of Kassel, INCHER and Institute of Economics); Guido Buenstorf (University of Kassel, INCHER and Institute of Economics); Matthias Huegel (University of Kassel, INCHER and Institute of Economics); Johannes Koenig (University of Kassel, INCHER and Institute of Economics; IAB Institute for Employment Research, Saarbruecken); Maria Theissen (University of Kassel, INCHER and Institute of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Previous research has shown that a large fraction of tenured university faculty in the U.S. and other countries were trained at a small number of highly prestigious universities. The question remains whether this concentration is due to competitive advantages held by candidates from these universities, or whether it merely reflects the larger output of early-career researchers aspiring to faculty positions by these universities. To address this question, we analyze data covering the full population of doctoral graduates in Germany since the 1960s. Similar to studies of the U.S. system of higher education, we observe a strong concentration of professors trained at only a small number of universities. However, we find no evidence indicating that the prestige of the doctoral degree-granting university systematically affects individuals’ odds of being appointed to professorships. Despite increasing stratification tendencies, our results do not indicate that the importance of the degree-granting university for academic careers has increased. While doctoral graduates from top-tier universities are more likely to secure faculty positions at similar institutions, this is mostly due to returns to their own alma mater after initial appointments elsewhere. |
| Keywords: | Faculty appointment, university prestige, stratification, academic labor market, professorship, Germany, Habilitation |
| JEL: | I24 J24 J40 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:202516 |
| By: | Douglas Cumming |
| Abstract: | I present data from SCImago, 1999-2024, on factors that affect the valuation of finance journals. The SCImago data show some interesting facts; for example, in 2024, Finance Research Letters, valued at \$16.5 million, was four times more valuable than the Journal of Financial Economics (\$4.1m), five times more valuable than the Review of Financial Studies (\$3.3m), and over seven times more valuable than the Journal of Finance (\$2.3m). The data show that quality, as proxied by citations, positively affects journal value, and this value increase is heightened by citations from policy documents; similarly, the absence of quality, or a greater percentage of uncited documents, negatively affects journal value. The data indicate that the creation of the Elsevier Ecosystem of networked finance journals significantly enhances journal value. Further, a greater percentage of female authors positively impacts value. I discuss policy implications and suggestions for future work based on the evidence presented. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.14301 |