How Does the Market Use Citation Data? The Hirsch Index in Economics

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Year: 2013
Volume: 5
Issue: 3
Pages: 63-90

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

A large literature following Hirsch (2005) has proposed citation- based indexes of individuals' research output. This paper views Hirsch's index as one member of a larger class and examines how well different indexes align with labor market outcomes for young, tenured economists at 50 US departments. Variants that emphasize smaller numbers of highly-cited papers are more aligned with labor market outcomes than is Hirsch's original index. It also examines how the market assesses jointly authored work, and how indexes can be adjusted for differences in citations across fields and years of experience

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejapp:v:5:y:2013:i:3:p:63-90
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25