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Revealed preference for economics journals: Citations as dollar votes

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There are several measures which can be used to evaluate professional regard for economics journals. In this paper, I have focused on citations as a proxy for quality of material published, as revealed preference for the journals. The availability of the Social Sciences Citation Index has permitted construction of a relative rating system for economics journals, based on citations, which was virtually impossible for previous researchers to achieve. While the potential objections to using citations as a proxy have been admitted, the proxy is still a useful one — one that reveals preferences for the top economics journals, much as dollars reveal preferences in product markets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Maryland, 5401 Wilkens Ave., 21228, Catonsville, MD

    David N. Laband & John P. Sophocleus

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  1. David N. Laband
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  2. John P. Sophocleus
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We are indebted to the participants in the UMBC seminar series in applied economics. The usual disclaimer applies.

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Laband, D.N., Sophocleus, J.P. Revealed preference for economics journals: Citations as dollar votes. Public Choice 46, 317–324 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00124429

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