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Journal of Economic Literature
H-index 34

Journal of Economic Literature

0022-0515

Published by: American Economic Association

https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/jel

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Economics and Finance 28 82 73 33

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 99
Documents by Best Scientists*: 85
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 14
SCIMAGO H-index: 189
SCIMAGO SJR: 12.749
Impact Factor: 10.6

Overview

Top Research Topics at Journal of Economic Literature?

Journal of Economic Literature focuses on Positive economics, Economy, Social science, Public economics and Economic history.

  • Positive economics (10.65%)
  • Economy (8.46%)
  • Social science (7.10%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda (4527 citations)
  • Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey (4278 citations)
  • Time Discounting and Time Preference: A Critical Review (4082 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Journal of Economic Literature:

The most cited articles focus largely on the fields of Microeconomics, Positive economics, Econometrics, Public economics and Labour economics. While work presented in the journal articles provide substantial information on Positive economics, it also covers topics in Empirical evidence and Social science. The published articles address concerns in Public economics which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Incentive and Welfare.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • World War II
  • Capitalism

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Journal of Economic Literature tackles a plethora of topics, such as Public economics, Externality, State (polity), Law and economics and Economic inequality. Public economics research presented in Journal of Economic Literature encompasses a variety of subjects, including Psychological intervention, Empirical evidence, Government, Economic interventionism and Socioeconomic status. While Externality is the focus of the journal, it also provided insights into the studies of Capital (economics), Openness to experience, Endogeneity, Globalization and Collective action.

In it, Political economy and Politics are investigated in conjunction with one another to address concerns in State (polity) research. The close relationship between Competition (economics) and Intervention (law) is one of the points of interest dissected in Law and economics research. Issues in Economic inequality were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Development economics, Equity (economics), Distribution (economics), Economic Justice and Population growth.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Using Synthetic Controls: Feasibility, Data Requirements, and Methodological Aspects (94 citations)
  • Behavioral and Experimental Macroeconomics and Policy Analysis: A Complex Systems Approach (15 citations)
  • Economic Inequality in Preindustrial Times: Europe and Beyond (11 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Journal of Economic Literature (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Paul A. Samuelson (14 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Edward N. Wolff (11 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Joel Mokyr (9 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Donald N. McCloskey (7 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Joel Slemrod (6 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Journal of Economic Literature (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Harvard University (39 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Princeton University (19 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Columbia University (16 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Yale University (16 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Duke University (13 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 10.53% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 29.41% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 5.88% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 35.29% of all publications and 29.41% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Accounting and Economics: A Comparative Approach

The field of economics presents a broad spectrum of research opportunities, many of which interlock with other disciplines like accounting. A comparative look at these areas can provide a deeper understanding of the unique aspects and commonalities between them.

Accounting, at its core, is a discipline heavily rooted in economic principles, playing a crucial role in recording financial transactions, managing taxes, auditing, and helping firms make strategic financial decisions. Transparency, accountability, and good financial governance are essential components taught in best accounting programs in Iowa. These skills are crucial not only for an individual firm's financial health but also the wider economy.

Just as economic research, accounting research has varying areas of focus – from exploring accounting ethics, fraud detection, tax policy, the role of financial statements in investor decision-making, to the impacts of changing accounting standards.

There is an undeniable synergy between both fields, which indeed many scholars tap into for interdisciplinary studies. Analyzing the economic impacts from an accounting perspective, or assessing the accounting systems through an economic lens, can yield important insights that pave the way for effective policy-making decisions or refinements in academic theory. This reinforces the importance of comparative approaches in academia, highlighting the need for continuous dialogue and research across different fields.

Top Publications

  • Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five

    James J. Heckman;Sidharth Moktan

    (2020)
    367 Citations
  • Measuring Time Preferences

    Jonathan D Cohen;Keith Marzilli Ericson;David Laibson;John Myles White

    (2020)
    348 Citations
  • Model Averaging and its Use in Economics

    Mark F. J. Steel

    (2020)
    289 Citations
  • What Remains of Cross-Country Convergence?

    Paul Johnson;Chris Papageorgiou

    (2020)
    280 Citations
  • Explaining the Decline in the U.S. Employment-to-Population Ratio: a Review of the Evidence

    Katharine G Abraham;Melissa S Kearney

    (2020)
    267 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal