Walter Scheidel publications per year

The chart shows the history of publications by Walter Scheidel between 1976 and 2025, highlighting the no. of papers published in each year and offering an overview of the publication velocity of this scholar. Walter Scheidel published across 50 years, from 1976 to 2025, averaging 5.2 papers a year. Output peaked at 21 publications in 2007. 11 of the 262 publications appeared in the last two years.

No. of publications

5 10 15 20

1976 2025

262 publications in total across all disciplines

View publications per year as a table

Walter Scheidel: publications per year, 1976 to 2025
Year	Publications
1976	2
1977	0
1978	0
1979	0
1980	0
1981	0
1982	0
1983	0
1984	0
1985	0
1986	0
1987	0
1988	0
1989	1
1990	5
1991	0
1992	1
1993	0
1994	4
1995	2
1996	3
1997	5
1998	19
1999	3
2000	5
2001	10
2002	3
2003	2
2004	4
2005	6
2006	3
2007	21
2008	8
2009	16
2010	11
2011	3
2012	12
2013	10
2014	8
2015	14
2016	4
2017	14
2018	16
2019	8
2020	6
2021	8
2022	11
2023	3
2024	7
2025	4
Total	262

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Walter Scheidel publication distribution in Social Sciences and Humanities in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Walter Scheidel sits on this spectrum.

No. of scientists

100 200 300 400

44–53 publications 570+

This scientist: 230 publications — 74th percentile

74% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 570 publications or more.

View publications distribution as a table

Number of Social Sciences and Humanities scientists by publication count, Research.com 2026 ranking edition. Based on 7,777 ranked scientists.
Publications	Scientists	This scientist
44–53	28
54–63	61
64–73	161
74–83	225
84–93	301
94–103	390
104–113	406
114–123	474
124–133	453
134–143	434
144–153	407
154–163	411
164–173	391
174–183	313
184–193	319
194–203	304
204–213	285
214–223	246
224–233	213	230
234–243	170
244–253	167
254–263	162
264–273	138
274–283	138
284–293	113
294–303	106
304–313	95
314–323	101
324–333	81
334–343	69
344–353	56
354–363	36
364–373	42
374–383	41
384–393	44
394–403	27
404–413	30
414–423	20
424–433	29
434–443	29
444–453	25
454–463	19
464–473	21
474–483	11
484–493	17
494–503	7
504–513	6
514–523	12
524–533	10
534–543	7
544–553	6
554–563	12
564–569	8
570+	100

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Walter Scheidel D-index placement in Social Sciences and Humanities in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Social Sciences and Humanities scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Walter Scheidel sits on this spectrum.

No. of scientists

100 200 300

30 D-Index 100+

This scientist: 58 D-Index — 79th percentile

79% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 100 D-Index or more.

View D-Index distribution as a table

Number of Social Sciences and Humanities scientists by D-index, Research.com 2026 ranking edition. Based on 7,777 ranked scientists.
D-Index	Scientists	This scientist
30	177
31	210
32	222
33	188
34	181
35	243
36	261
37	272
38	278
39	300
40	297
41	308
42	313
43	300
44	269
45	260
46	228
47	251
48	203
49	186
50	187
51	166
52	138
53	141
54	131
55	137
56	109
57	129
58	95	58
59	105
60	106
61	86
62	94
63	77
64	79
65	59
66	68
67	51
68	49
69	40
70	43
71	40
72	50
73	46
74	43
75	45
76	45
77	30
78	25
79	31
80	29
81	18
82	21
83	26
84	15
85	15
86	19
87	19
88	12
89	7
90	19
91	20
92	13
93	9
94	13
95	8
96	7
97	6
98	6
99	6
100+	97

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Research.com Recognitions

2015 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation

Overview

Walter Scheidel is affiliated with Stanford University in the United States and specializes in social sciences, with a focus on anthropology, sociology and political science, economics and econometrics, archaeology, and genetics.

The scholar's research addresses topics such as historical economic and social studies, Chinese history and philosophy, classical antiquity studies, colonialism, slavery and trade, Eurasian exchange networks, archaeology and historical studies, and culture, economy, and development studies.

Recent academic publications by Walter Scheidel include:

Roman wealth and wealth inequality in comparative perspective, 2020, Journal of Roman Archaeology
Resetting History's Dial? A Critique of David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, 2022, Cliodynamics The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution
A comparison of income inequality in the Roman and Chinese Han empires, 2025, Nature Communications
Fitness and Power: The Contribution of Genetics to the History of Differential Reproduction, 2021, Evolutionary Psychology
Inequality Reduction Between Tragedy and Progress: The Great Leveler and Recent Scholarship, 2017-2024, 2024, SSRN Electronic Journal

Frequent co-authors include:

Peter Fibiger Bang
C. A. Bayly
Guido Alfani
Michele Bolla
Josiah Ober

Walter Scheidel has published in several academic venues with multiple contributions to:

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
SSRN Electronic Journal
Journal of Roman Archaeology
The Classical Review
Cliodynamics The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution

One notable book authored by Walter Scheidel is The Oxford World History of Empire, published in 2021 by Oxford University Press.

The scientist was recognized in 2015 as a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Best Publications

The Great Leveler

Walter Scheidel

826
Citations
The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century

Walter Scheidel

625
Citations
The Cambridge economic history of the Greco-Roman world

Walter Scheidel;Ian Morris;Richard P. Saller

550
Citations
The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire

Walter Scheidel;Steven J. Friesen

477
Citations
Debating Roman demography

Walter Scheidel

330
Citations
Quantifying the Sources of Slaves in the Early Roman Empire

Walter Scheidel

266
Citations
Death on the Nile: Disease and the Demography of Roman Egypt

Walter Scheidel

257
Citations
Human Mobility in Roman Italy, II: The Slave Population

Walter Scheidel

251
Citations
The Ancient Economy

Walter Scheidel;Sitta von Reden

248
Citations
The Roman slave supply

Walter Scheidel

242
Citations
Real Wages in Early Economies: Evidence for Living Standards from 1800 BCE to 1300 CE

Walter Scheidel

239
Citations
Rome and China: Comparative Perspectives on Ancient World Empires

Walter Scheidel

215
Citations
The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium

Ian Morris;Walter Scheidel

204
Citations
PROGRESS AND PROBLEMS IN ROMAN DEMOGRAPHY

Walter Scheidel

180
Citations
Measuring Sex, Age and Death in the Roman Empire: Explorations in Ancient Demography

Walter Scheidel

174
Citations
A model of demographic and economic change in Roman Egypt after the Antonine plague

Walter Scheidel

167
Citations
Human Mobility in Roman Italy, II: The Slave Population*

Unknown

148
Citations
The shape of the Roman world: modelling imperial connectivity

Walter Scheidel

142
Citations
The Greek demographic expansion: models and comparisons

Walter Scheidel

132
Citations
Population and Demography

Walter Scheidel

119
Citations
Emperors, aristocrats, and the Grim Reaper: towards a demographic profile of the Roman elite.

Walter Scheidel

118
Citations
The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy

Walter Scheidel

111
Citations
The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire

Steven J. Friesen;Walter Scheidel

83
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Richard Saller Stanford University

Kees Klein Goldewijk Utrecht University

Stefan C. Dekker Utrecht University

Martin J. Wassen Utrecht University

Marc F. P. Bierkens Utrecht University

Michael J. Mitchell University of Pennsylvania

Josiah Ober Stanford University

Andrea Novelletto University of Rome Tor Vergata

Peter A. Underhill Stanford University

Ornella Semino University of Pavia

External Links

Wikipedia of Walter Scheidel Personal website of Walter Scheidel

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

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