Opening the gates: The increasing impact of papers beyond the top five and other changes in economic publishing

Abstract

The field of economics is undergoing a paradigm shift, marked by what has become known as the “credibility revolution.” This shift has impacted what economists write about, how they organize and structure their papers, and where they chose to publish their findings. This paper traces publishing trends from the 100 most cited papers in the decades from 1970 to 2019 (500 papers in total). Data suggest that the field has become more empirical and that the structure of papers is more standardized, often following a format that is closer to that of scientific papers. Increases in the percentage of women first-listed authors and the gender ratio are noted and found to be correlated with emerging fields. Most interestingly, a decreasing number of highly cited papers are from what are generally considered the “Top 5” journals in economics, suggesting increasing importance of articles published outside of the Top 5.