Impact versus Inclusion in the Economics Profession: Insights from the Papers and Proceedings

We examine trends in author representation, research topics, and impact of citations to articles in the American Economic Review and what was formerly its Papers & Proceedings (P&P). Over what we refer to as the P&P expansion period (2008-2017), we see a significant shift toward greater diversity of P&P authors with respect to gender and institutions, and the range of topics covered. Importantly, the rise in inclusivity during this time period occurred without any loss of impact, with P&P article citations actually rising relative to regular-issue articles. Thus, our analysis suggests there is no trade-off between impact and inclusion.

Duke Scholars

Author Ellen E Meade Economics