Saturday, January 29, 2011
Chapter 2 Part 1
Chapter 2 details the hierarchal "institutions" of the AEA conferences. The first of which is defined by the publishing of textbooks. Economic textbooks are the most profitable publishing investments. The second institution is classified by the tremendous level of education economic professionals have accomplished. Every year 10,000 students apply to graduate economic programs, 2,500 of which are accepted. Only an average of 850 students earn a Ph.D. in economics every year, unlike the 15,000 that earn a M.D. The third institution is based around the concept of loyalties and circular interdependence- the idea that "the best universities are the ones that get the best students; in turn attract the best teachers/researchers". Finally, the fourth institution is described as invisible and the most select because it is comprised of editors/referees of economic journals that work anonymously, and also make the final decision on which economist's articles will be published.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A for Kim.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I'd say "Economic textbooks are the most profitable publishing investments", just that they can be very lucrative for some authors.
I think you missed the second point: it's about the job market not the educational attainment. The meetings are where the graduating Ph.D. students are sorted out amongst the different schools.
A top student gets a job in the second institution, uses the third institution to stay socially connected, succeeds or fails in the fourth one, and with a little luck ends up after 20 years like Greg Mankiw at the top of the first one.