Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/162567 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
Kiel Working Paper No. 2084
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), Kiel
Abstract: 
When preparing a research article, academics engage in informal intellectual collaboration by asking their colleagues for feedback. This collaboration gives rise to a social network between academics. We study whether informal intellectual collaboration with an academic who is more central in this social network results in a research article having higher scientific impact. To address the well-known reflection problem in estimating network effects, we use the assignment of discussants at NBER summer institutes as a quasi-natural experiment. We show that manuscripts discussed by a discussant with a 10% higher than average Bonacich centrality rank results in 1.4% more citations and a 5% higher probability that an article is published in a top journal. To illustrate our results, we develop a structural model in which a positive externality from intellectual collaboration implies that collaborating with a more central colleague results in larger scientific impact of the research article.
Subjects: 
informal intellectual collaboration
social network
scientific impact
centrality
JEL: 
A14
D83
G00
O33
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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