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On journal rankings and researchers' abilities

Author

Listed:
  • Wojciech Charemza
  • Michał Lewandowski
  • Łukasz Woźny

Abstract

Over the last few years, ranking lists of academic journals have become one of the key indicators for evaluating individual researchers, departments and universities. How to optimally design such rankings? What can we learn from commonly used journal ranking lists? To answer these questions, we propose a simple model of optimal rewards for publication in academic journals. Based on a principal-agent model with researchers' hidden abilities, we characterize the second-best journal reward system, where all available journals are assigned to one of several categories or ranks. We provide a tractable example that has a closed-form solution and allows numerical applications. Finally, we show how to calibrate the distribution of researchers' ability levels from the observed journal ranking schemes.

Suggested Citation

  • Wojciech Charemza & Michał Lewandowski & Łukasz Woźny, 2023. "On journal rankings and researchers' abilities," KAE Working Papers 2023-092, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis.
    • Handle: RePEc:sgh:kaewps:2023092
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12182/1175
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    Keywords

    journal rankings; publication reward mechanisms; optimal categorization; journal quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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