DP6935 Ranking Israel's Economists

Author(s):	Dan Ben-David
Publication Date:	August 2008
Keyword(s):	academic economists, Israel, rankings
JEL(s):	A1, H83, I23
Programme Areas:	Labour Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=6935

One of the more important measures of a scholar?s research impact is the number of times that the scholar?s work is cited by other researchers as a source of knowledge. This paper conducts a first of its kind examination on Israel?s academic economists and economics departments, ranking them according to the number of citations on their work. It also provides a vista into one of the primary reasons given by junior Israeli economists for an unparalleled brain drain from the country - discrepancies between research impact and promotion. The type of examination carried out in this paper can now be easily replicated in other fields and in other countries utilizing freely-available citations data and compilation software that have been made readily accessible in recent years.