On the Influence of Top Journals

Ductor, Lorenzo; Goyal, Sanjeev; <!>van der Leij, Marco; Nicolas Paez, Gustavo

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3580395

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On the Influence of Top Journals

Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 2020-019/II

41 Pages Posted: 14 May 2020

See all articles by Lorenzo Ductor

Marco van der Leij

CeNDEF, University of Amsterdam; Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament - European Novitiate

Gustavo Nicolas Paez

Myanmar Development Resource Institute-Centre for Economic and Social Development

Date Written: April 9, 2020

Abstract

We study the evolution of the influence of journals over the period 1970-2017. In the early 1970's, a number of journals had similar influence, but by 1995, the `Top 5' journals, QJE, AER, RES, Econometrica, and JPE, had acquired a major lead. This dominance has remained more or less unchanged since 1995. To place these developments in a broader context, we also study trends in sociology. The trends there have gone the other way; the field journals rose in influence, relative to the Top General journals. A model of journals as platforms is developed to understand these trends across time and across disciplines.

Keywords: Research Impact, Top 5 Journals, Academic Publishing, Citations

JEL Classification: A14, D85

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Ductor, Lorenzo and Goyal, Sanjeev and van der Leij, Marco Juri and Nicolas Paez, Gustavo, On the Influence of Top Journals (April 9, 2020). Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 2020-019/II, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3580395 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3580395