Who Belongs? The Determinants of Selective Membership into the National Bureau of Economic Research
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111,
May 2021
(pp. 117-22)
Abstract
We examine the determinants of membership into the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) using data from all tenured and tenure-track economists at R1 universities in the United States. We construct an annual panel of employment, research productivity, NBER membership, and connectedness to NBER members. Using survival analysis, we show that conditional on controls, the hazard of becoming an NBER member is lower for men. Membership is highly dependent on top-five publications rather than total publications or citations, particularly so for women. Networks play a crucial role in determining NBER membership—especially having same-sex colleagues and advisors who are NBER members.Citation
Kleemans, Marieke, and Rebecca L. Thornton. 2021. "Who Belongs? The Determinants of Selective Membership into the National Bureau of Economic Research." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 117-22. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211123Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- A14 Sociology of Economics