Scientific networks and co-authorship

Working paper

Using a database of all published articles in economic journals over the last 30 years, we investigate the determinants of scientific co-authorship. We find that, controlling for pair-wise fixed effects and author productivity, a new collaboration emerges faster if the two authors are more closely connected, either directly or indirectly, through collaborations with others. This effect is strong and robust. It is consistent with a referral model of the formation of scientific collaborations. We also find that large differences in research output between authors favor co-authorship, suggesting that scientific collaboration is more likely between authors with dissimilar ability and experience. This effect disappears if we limit the data to highly productive authors.

Authors: Fafchamps, M; J. van der Leij, M; Goyal, S

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: University of Oxford
• Series: Department of Economics Discussion Paper Series
• Publication date: 2006-02-01
• Paper number: 256
• Keywords: scientific collaboration; networks; economics; job referral; academia; assortative matching