Quantity vs. Quality: Impact on Scholarly Contribution

Abstract

In this study, we show that the number of papers published by an individual in a broad set of journals is a poor predictor of the number of citations the individual will receive: the former explains less than 7% of cross-sectional variation in the latter. We find, however, that the number of papers in the top four journals explains more than 25% of cross-sectional variation in the number of citations. The number of papers published by an individual in a broad set of both high- and lower-quality journals increases with the number of years since graduation. We find, however, that the number of papers in the top four journals does not increase with the number of years since graduation, indicating that the likelihood of publication in the top journals declines substantially as people get older.

Keywords: Articles published, Citations, Relationship between publications and citations

JEL Classification: I29, G00