全球智库信息集成服务系统(G2TT): DP10980 Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time?

G2TT

来源类型	Discussion paper
规范类型	论文
来源ID	DP10980
	DP10980 Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time?
	Pierre Azoulay; Christian Fons-Rosen; Joshua Graff Zivin
发表日期	2015-12-13
出版年	2015
语种	英语
摘要	We study the extent to which eminent scientists shape the vitality of their fields by examining entry rates into the fields of 452 academic life scientists who pass away while at the peak of their scientific abilities. Key to our analyses is a novel way to delineate boundaries around scientific fields by appealing solely to intellectual linkages between scientists and their publications, rather than collaboration or co-citation patterns. Consistent with previous research, the flow of articles by collaborators into affected fields decreases precipitously after the death of a star scientist (relative to control fields). In contrast, we find that the flow of articles by non-collaborators increases by 8% on average. These additional contributions are disproportionately likely to be highly cited. They are also more likely to be authored by scientists who were not previously active in the deceased superstar's field. Overall, these results suggest that outsiders are reluctant to challenge leadership within a field when the star is alive and that a number of barriers may constrain entry even after she is gone. Intellectual, social, and resource barriers all impede entry, with outsiders only entering subfields that offer a less hostile landscape for the support and acceptance of "foreign" ideas.
主题	Industrial Organization
关键词	Cumulative knowledge production Economics of science Invisible college Scientific fields Superstars
URL	https://cepr.org/publications/dp10980
来源智库	Centre for Economic Policy Research (United Kingdom)
资源类型	智库出版物
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/539809
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Pierre Azoulay,Christian Fons-Rosen,Joshua Graff Zivin. DP10980 Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time?. 2015.