TY - JOUR

T1 - Six Dimensions of Concentration in Economics

T2 - Evidence from a Large-Scale Data Set

AU - Glötzl, Florentin

AU - Aigner, Ernest

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgments. We are grateful for financial support from the Forschungsinstitut für Gesellschaftliche Weiterentwicklung (Research Institute for Societal Development). Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Cambridge University Press.

PY - 2019/12/1

Y1 - 2019/12/1

N2 - Argument This paper argues that the economics discipline is highly concentrated, which may inhibit scientific innovation and change in the future. The argument is based on an empirical investigation of six dimensions of concentration in economics between 1956 and 2016 using a large-scale data set. The results show that North America accounts for nearly half of all articles and three quarters of all citations. Twenty institutions reap a share of 42 percent of citations, five journals a share of 28.5 percent, and 100 authors a share of 15.5 percent. A total of 2.8 percent of citations may be attributed to heterodox schools of thought. Also top articles are concentrated along these dimensions. Overall, concentration has strongly increased over the last six decades.

AB - Argument This paper argues that the economics discipline is highly concentrated, which may inhibit scientific innovation and change in the future. The argument is based on an empirical investigation of six dimensions of concentration in economics between 1956 and 2016 using a large-scale data set. The results show that North America accounts for nearly half of all articles and three quarters of all citations. Twenty institutions reap a share of 42 percent of citations, five journals a share of 28.5 percent, and 100 authors a share of 15.5 percent. A total of 2.8 percent of citations may be attributed to heterodox schools of thought. Also top articles are concentrated along these dimensions. Overall, concentration has strongly increased over the last six decades.

KW - bibliometrics

KW - citations

KW - concentration

KW - economics

KW - inequality

KW - scientometrics

KW - Economics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082092604&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/S0269889720000034

DO - 10.1017/S0269889720000034

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 32202234

AN - SCOPUS:85082092604

VL - 32

SP - 381

EP - 410

JO - Science in Context

JF - Science in Context

SN - 0269-8897

IS - 4

ER -