The interaction of publications and appointments: new evidence on academic economists in Germany

Abstract

Using a new panel data set comprising publication and appointment data for 889 German academic economists over a quarter of a century, we confirm the familiar hypothesis that publications are important for professorial appointments, but find only a small negative effect of appointments on subsequent research productivity, in particular if one controls for the presence of top researchers (‘stars’). Surprisingly, the research output of stars drops significantly more than the average in the aftermath of an appointment. We also provide some evidence of the effects of the fundamental reform of economics in Germany and of affirmative action procedures.