http://www.econjobrumors.com/ Economics Job Market Rumors Topic: Publication culture in economics en Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:12:42 +0000 http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=5#post-86695 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:34:35 +0000 Anonymous 86695@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>To each his own, and to thine own self be true. If you believe in social responsibility, then focus on that goal in the most effective way you know how. If you believe in personal responsibility, then play a macho publication game. However, it is an imposition to prescribe social responsibility as a universal preference.</p> <p>==</p> <p>well said. </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=5#post-86679 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:28:45 +0000 Anonymous 86679@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>It's von Neumann, not Von Neumann, even at the head of a new sentence. </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86677 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:14:56 +0000 Anonymous 86677@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>^ I feel a responsibility to produce something meaningful because I am paid with the tax money and tuition payments of others. I have a responsibility to work hard, produce something that can help society, and be true to my convictions. The publication game is acceptable only in so far as it can accommodate these other goals. </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86667 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:41:26 +0000 Anonymous 86667@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>^ what's the source of information about Von Neumann? </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86577 Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:09:25 +0000 Anonymous 86577@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>Von Neumann's philosophy was that we are not responsible to the world around us. Within such a framework of thinking, social contribution is as arbitrary a goal as macho publication games. </p> <p>To each his own, and to thine own self be true. If you believe in social responsibility, then focus on that goal in the most effective way you know how. If you believe in personal responsibility, then play a macho publication game. However, it is an imposition to prescribe social responsibility as a universal preference. </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86498 Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:12:13 +0000 Anonymous 86498@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>As far as I know, Selten's idea on SPE was published in 1975 in the International Journal of Game Theory, not exactly a bad outlet. It doesn't seem to me that he was really outside the system.<br /> ------------</p> <p>No, 1965 in Zeitschrift für die gesamte Staatswissenschaft and in german.</p> <p>Regards,</p> <p>bored loser </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86141 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:20:36 +0000 Anonymous 86141@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>These things can (and of course do) co-exist. E.g., I care a great deal about status, money, etc., and at the same time, when I see a paper I really like, I want to help the author get it published in a good journal and make it known, with no selfish reason (or at least none I can think of). I don't see any contradiction here.<br /> ==========================================</p> <p>True, but sometimes they are at odds with one another.</p> <p>When an economist tells me he's an academic, so he doesn't chase social status like private sector economists, I laugh. I think to myself, no, you just chase social status in another arena. </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86134 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:47:32 +0000 Anonymous 86134@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>I care that I use my talents as a researcher to make a "social impact." To a large degree, editors do too (or measures related to it such as citations). Since "social impact" is hard to measure, the opinions of editors are used as an imperfect shorthand for importance. When we see a paper that looks important but is outside of our narrow areas of expertise, in a lower tier journal we assume that there is something unobservable to us that caused it to not meet the standards for a higher tier journal. My dean also values "social impact" (or measures related to it such as funding) and consequently compensates me more the better I publish. Private incentives are aligned with an imperfect measure of social incentives.</p> <p>The imperfection arises because we do not all agree on what makes a greater social impact (e.g., empirical vs. theoretic biases, field biases, etc.) and because referees and editors make mistakes. In the first instance, hashing out the relative importance often focuses on the journals' qualities. In the second, it is important to the profession to identify those cases of under-placed and over-placed publications. This takes a lot of time and energy, but I do not know of a better mechanism. Perhaps it will be improved with the Internet. In the mean time, as a consequence of this mechanism at work, the profession appears to be publication obsessed. </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86114 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:38:37 +0000 Anonymous 86114@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>^ These things can (and of course do) co-exist. E.g., I care a great deal about status, money, etc., and at the same time, when I see a paper I really like, I want to help the author get it published in a good journal and make it known, with no selfish reason (or at least none I can think of). I don't see any contradiction here. </p> http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic.php?id=4522&page=4#post-86096 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:42:19 +0000 Anonymous 86096@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <p>Try then to explain the many anonymous volunteers in the profession... </p>