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Is Economics Self-Correcting? Replications in the American Economic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Ankel-Peters, Jörg
  • Fiala, Nathan
  • Neubauer, Florian

Abstract

This paper reviews the impact of replications published as comments in the American Economic Review between 2010 and 2020. We examine their citations and influence on the original papers' subsequent citations. Our results show that comments are barely cited, and they do not affect the original paper's citations - even if the comment diagnoses substantive problems. Furthermore, we conduct an opinion survey among replicators and authors and find that there often is no consensus on whether the original paper's contribution sustains. We conclude that the economics literature does not self-correct, and that robustness and replicability are hard to define in economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Ankel-Peters, Jörg & Fiala, Nathan & Neubauer, Florian, 2023. "Is Economics Self-Correcting? Replications in the American Economic Review," I4R Discussion Paper Series 68, The Institute for Replication (I4R).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:68
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Ankel-Peters, Jörg & Fiala, Nathan & Neubauer, Florian, 2023. "Do economists replicate?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 219-232.
    5. Lucas C. Coffman & Muriel Niederle & Alistair J. Wilson, 2017. "A Proposal to Organize and Promote Replications," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 41-45, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rose, Julian & Neubauer, Florian & Ankel-Peters, Jörg, 2024. "Long-Term Effects of the Targeting the Ultra-Poor Program - A Reproducibility and Replicability Assessment of Banerjee et al. (2021)," I4R Discussion Paper Series 142, The Institute for Replication (I4R).
    2. Ankel-Peters, Jörg & Fiala, Nathan & Neubauer, Florian, 2023. "Do economists replicate?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 219-232.
    3. Ankel-Peters, Jörg & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2023. "Rural electrification, the credibility revolution, and the limits of evidence-based policy," Ruhr Economic Papers 1051, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    4. Thibaut Arpinon & Marianne Lefebvre, 2024. "Registered Reports and Associated Benefits for Agricultural Economics," Post-Print hal-04635986, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    replication; citations; meta-science;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • B40 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - General

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