COVID-19 and the Illusion of Productivity

Abstract

Using all papers posted on SSRN from July 2016 to August 2021 by authors from Top 1,000 business schools and economics departments, we investigate how COVID-19 affects research productivity, measured as the number of posted papers. We find that productivity declines, except for male and senior authors associated with Top 50 departments. COVID-19, therefore, appears to have further increased inequality between universities and authors. However, even the Top 50 productivity increase appears superficial, as it was driven by shorter papers, revisions, and more co-authors. We also document a tone change in abstracts. This change is, however, small and benign, unlikely to affect productivity or research integrity in the long term.

Keywords: COVID-19, productivity, inequality, behavioral

JEL Classification: A11, A14, J24, J16, J78