Study Finds Persistent Publishing Inequality in Economics
7 reported
A new research paper documents persistent concentration in economics publishing, according to a report on marginalrevolution.com. The study finds that the number of economists has grown nearly sixfold since 1990, but new entrants tend to publish in lower-tier journals while established authors retain top-tier positions. The top 1% of authors accounted for 38.4% of top-5 publication credit in 1990, rising to 78.3% in 2025. The persistence of this concentration is widespread across cohorts, subfields, and gender. New journals only slightly dilute the concentration, and elite authors diversify their topics faster than the rest of the profession. The researchers interpret these findings using a screening model of attention under information overload, which they say is consistent with the evidence.
What’s reported
The number of economists grew almost sixfold since 1990.
New entrants publish in lower-tier journals while incumbents hold the top.
The top 1% of authors accounted for 38.4% of top-5 publication credit in 1990 and 78.3% in 2025.
Persistence is widespread within cohorts, subfields, and within gender.
New journals only slightly dilute concentration.
Elite authors diversify on topics faster than the rest of the profession.
The findings are interpreted with a screening model of attention under information overload.
Key figures
Ricardo Dahis (researcher, mentioned as author of the paper)
Samir Varma (mentioned as source of the paper)
Sources: marginalrevolution.com
