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  4. July 2013
  5. How Does the Market Use Citation Data? The Hirsch Index in Economics

How Does the Market Use Citation Data? The Hirsch Index in Economics

  • Glenn Ellison
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 5, no. 3, July 2013
(pp. 63-90)
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Abstract

A large literature following Hirsch (2005) has proposed citation- based indexes of individuals' research output. This paper views Hirsch's index as one member of a larger class and examines how well different indexes align with labor market outcomes for young, tenured economists at 50 US departments. Variants that emphasize smaller numbers of highly-cited papers are more aligned with labor market outcomes than is Hirsch's original index. It also examines how the market assesses jointly authored work, and how indexes can be adjusted for differences in citations across fields and years of experience.

Citation

Ellison, Glenn. 2013. "How Does the Market Use Citation Data? The Hirsch Index in Economics." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 5 (3): 63-90. DOI: 10.1257/app.5.3.63

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • A14 Sociology of Economics
  • C43 Index Numbers and Aggregation; Leading indicators
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