Journal of Political Economy Vol. 132 No. 9 2024
Clubs and Networks in Economics Reviewing
Abstract
We study how author connections influence paper outcomes at the Journal of Human Resources. Authors who attended the same PhD program, worked with, affiliate with the same National Bureau of Economic Research program(s), or are closely linked via coauthorship networks as the handling editor are more likely to avoid a desk rejection. Reviewer recommendations are similarly influenced by PhD and employment matches. Matching on signals of ability—such as top five publishing, attending a high-ranked PhD program, or working in a high-ranked department—also impact peer review decisions. We find some evidence that published papers with greater connectivity subsequently receive fewer citations.
- DOI
- 10.1086/730208
- Volume
- 132
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 2999-3024
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref