Networks And Productivity -- A Study In Economic Scholars During COVID-19

TL;DR

This study examines how academic collaboration networks influenced economists' research productivity during COVID-19, revealing significant peer effects before the pandemic that diminished during it, with insights into gender and race disparities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel network dataset to analyze peer effects on productivity during COVID-19, highlighting changes in collaboration impact amid disruptions.

Findings

Peer effects were significant pre-pandemic but not during COVID-19.

Gender and race differences affect research productivity.

Collaboration dynamics influence knowledge production.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional academic collaboration patterns, offering a unique opportunity to analyze the influence of peer effects and collaboration dynamics on research productivity. Using a novel network dataset, this paper investigates the role of peer effects on the productivity of economists, as measured by their publication count, during both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. The results indicate that peer effects were significant in the pre-pandemic period but not during the pandemic. Additionally, the study sheds light on gender and race differences. These findings enhance our understanding of how research collaboration impacts knowledge production and provide insights that may inform policies aimed at promoting collaboration and boosting research productivity within the academic community.