The marginalization of southern researchers in Development

We analyze the share and quality of publications of southern-based authors in top development economic journals between 1990 and 2019. We consider researchers as southern if they are based in low, lower-middle and upper-middle income countries (LIMCs), according to the World Bank country classification. Our results indicate that 74% of publications in top development journals are written by researchers not based in southern countries. Northern-based researchers’ prevalence is amplified by the fact that they are more often cited than their counterparts from developing countries. Southern-based researchers’ marginalization is also shown by the composition of editorial teams in development journals: only 17% of the editors of our selected journals are based in LIMCs. Interestingly, we find a strong correlation between the composition of the editorial board and the origin of publications. Despite the lower share of southern-based researchers, collaborations between northern- and southern-based researchers have grown significantly in the past thirty years, suggesting a potential decline in the relative academic isolation of southern scholars that may work to boost quality research and access to academic development.