The low academic profile of Brazilian economists

Abstract

The worldwide prestige of economists in the lay media lies significantly higher than scientists and academics from other fields of expertise. Brazil is not an exception as well. A point that calls attention to this fact is that the most prestigious international economists, who are frequently present in the lay media, are also distinguished in the academic environment. The lay prestige may be measured by their presence in the media and by surveys of public opinion, whereas academic prestige may be evaluated using database indicators of publications and citations of academic articles. One indicator that became frequently used is the h-index, measuring publications and citations simultaneously. A relevant finding regarding international economists is that both lay prestige and academic prestige are high and, apparently, mutually dependent. Among Brazilian economists, lay prestige is not accompanied by academic prestige. This last one is significantly low, even though doctorate studies in international universities of excellence are commonplace in these economists' curricula. The data point to a low intensity of academic life in Brazilian economics schools.