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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

UNDERREPRESENTATION OF ASIA-FOCUSED
ARTICLES IN THE TOP 10 ECONOMICS JOURNALS

Roy Athanasius Ang Tjin Shane
Teong Xiu Yi
Tham Weng Leon

U1130138B
U1130028B
U1130012L

A Final Year Project submitted to the School of Humanities and Social
Sciences, Nanyang Technological University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Economics

Academic Year: 2014/2015

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

ABSTRACT
Despite its high growth, positive economic outlook and its GDP accounting for about a quarter of the world’s GDP, there is an underrepresentation of Asia in terms of published articles in the top 10 economics journals. This study highlights this fact and has found tenure to be a likely cause for the lack of Asia-focused articles. This stems from the strong emphasis universities place on the publishing of articles and with the belief that there is a lack of reliable data on Asia, researchers are less inclined to conduct studies on Asia given that top economics journals require accurate and dependable data for publishing.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We, the authors of this paper, would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to
Chia Wai Mun, Associate Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Nanyang Technology University, for her unwavering support and constant guidance throughout this project.
We would also like to thank the professors, academics and researchers from around the world for taking their time to give us their valuable insight and opinion. Without their opinions, this paper would not have been possible.
Lastly, we would like to express our appreciation to our family and friends who have supported us in one way or another, not only in this project, but also throughout our journey in university.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT

1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

2

1.

INTRODUCTION

4

2.

LITERATURE REVIEW

6

3.

OBJECTIVES

8

4.

METHODOLOGY

9

4.1 PHASE 1: TOP 10 ECONOMICS JOURNALS DATA COLLECTION
4.1.1 JOURNALS RANKING METHOD
4.1.2 SHORTLISTED ECONOMICS JOURNALS
4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.2.4
5.
5.1
5.2
5.3

PHASE 2: CONDUCT OF SURVEY
SURVEY OBJECTIVES
SURVEY SAMPLE
SURVEY ADMINISTRATION
SURVEY QUESTIONS

9
9
9
11
11
11
12
12

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF PHASE 1
HYPOTHESIS
RESULTS: AFFILIATIONS
RESULTS: JEL CATEGORIES

14
14
14
16

6.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF PHASE 2

23

6.1
6.2
6.3

GENERAL RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

24
24
29

7.

LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

31

8.

CONCLUSION

32

9.

REFERENCES

33

10. APPENDICES

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1.

INTRODUCTION

Asian economies over the last decades have been experiencing much growth. Between
1990 and 2030, in the span of one generation, a stylized East, consisting of the major
Asian economies, and West, consisting of the United States (US) and the European
Union (EU), will have roughly traded places in purchasing power GDP and other measures of economic mass (Kawai & Petri, 2014). Desker (2013) believes that Asia will likely surpass the US and Europe in terms of GDP, population size, military spending and technological investment.
The emerging economies will continue to grow rapidly over the next 40 years, with
China's GDP is projected to surpass that of the US in the second half of the 2020s, taking the top spot of the world economy ranking by 2030. With its favorable demographics and economic growth rates, India, with a projected share of 12% of the world economy, looks to claim a close third spot behind China (28%) and the United
States (14%) (Fouré, Bénassy-Quéré, & Fontagné, 2010).
Asian economies have for a while, been touted as the shining stars of the new global economic landscape. Mass media too has jumped on to the bandwagon with the plethora of material relating to Asian economies in both traditional print and new media mediums. With so much attention given to this region of the world, it would be assumed that top economics journals likely have a large proportion of articles focusing on Asian economies, especially in the last decade.
Glancing through the top economics journals, it is almost immediately noticeable that academics do not seem to share the same school of thought as the mass media; only a few articles were found to be Asia-focused. However, the fact that some academics do use some form of data from Asia as part of their articles cannot be ignored.
Nevertheless, for a region that has received much worldwide attention over the last decades, the scarcity in academic articles featured in the top journals appears counterintuitive.
Is there some form of writing and publishing preference for articles which are more US or Eurocentric? The authors of this paper believe so and that it involves a multi-layered

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09 process. First, an academic’s salary and promotion requirements are largely dictated by his research ability. This research ability is in turn often determined by the quality of journals in which his academic articles appear (Katz, 1973). Second, some institutions
“recommend” their faculty to publish articles in selected journals, if they are to be considered for promotion or tenure (Ali, Young, & Ali, 1996). Third, with economics being a traditionally Western-Centric field of study as well as the widespread of credible data coupled with the fact that the top publishing journals are located in the
Western parts of the world, the authors of this paper as well as academics surveyed believe that publishing houses exhibit some form of bias towards Western focused articles. Combining all three points, it is seemingly obvious that Asia-focused papers are likely to be pushed down the priority list of writings by academics.
In order to study more accurately if this is indeed true and if so, to rationalize the potential reasons for this, a three-step approach shall be taken. The first step shall entail data gathering of 10 of the top journals in economics. Based on impact factors and citation counts, 10 economics journals shall be selected for the purpose of this study.
Upon selection of the 10 journals to be studied, the collecting of basic information1 on the individual articles shall then commence. The second part shall then involve primary research of data gathering through the use of an online survey sent out to academics in the leading universities around the world. In this survey, participants will be asked for feedback on their publishing preference and history as well as their opinions on the lack of Asia-focused articles. The final step will then be a reconciliation of data obtained from the two segments to allow for statistical study and analysis.
Based on results gathered, there is indeed an underrepresentation of Asia-focused articles in the top 10 economics journals and is supported by the publishing history of surveyed academics. This study found that the majority of surveyed academics believe that the main cause of the underrepresentation of Asia-focused articles in the top economics journals is the lack of reliable data. Given the stringent requirements for publishing in the top economics journals, this lack of reliable data can be seen as the main culprit for scant number of Asia-focused articles.

1

Basic information entails: Title, year of publication, authors, affiliations, Journal of Economic Literature
(JEL) codes and whether the article is Asia-focused.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
2.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Lofthouse (1973), there is some evidence of publishing bias. Using data from Strauss (1973), Lofthouse found that the in American Economic Review, an association journal, articles from Chicago authors and Harvard authors were almost equal, comprising 3.8% and 3.7% respectively between 1950-1969. However, when the same comparison is made with the Journal of Political Economy (which is edited in
Chicago), he discovers that it yielded 12.9% and 1.2%. Conversely, when he looked at
Harvard’s Quarterly Journal of Economics, the figures were then found to be 1.6% and
13.4%. This therefore shows that publishing houses have some form of selection bias for articles to be accepted into their journals. With the existence of such a bias amongst the top journals (which are mostly Western based), the possibility of a preference for non-Asia-focused research papers cannot be discounted.
Undeniably, universities around the world are in a seemingly endless pursuit for university rankings and the desire to achieve as many publications as possible in the top journals of the respective fields. With such requirements set out by universities and with rational academics, especially those in the field of economics, this paper chase will likely never cease. Owing to this fact therefore, publishing is said to have become a compulsion, where the average author writes not in hope of contributing to knowledge but rather for the improvement of curriculum vitae (Berghe, 1970). Conley (2012) also believes that it seems that the purpose of publications in the top economics journals is no longer for the dissemination of knowledge but a tool for better job prospects.
Card and DellaVigna (2013) have highlighted that trends in the publication of economics journals have changed over the past few decades. They discovered that there has been a steady decline in the number of articles published in the top 5 economics journals beginning in the 1980s which saw an average of 325 articles per year to 275 per year between 2001 and 2010. They added that Econometrica and the Journal of
Political Economy are the main reasons for the reduction; Econometrica published about 100 annually in the 1970s but 60 today while the Journal of Political Economy published 85 annually in the 1970s but only 30 today. In terms of selectiveness, the
Quarterly Journal of Economics is said to be the most selective with an acceptance rate of merely 3%, followed by the Journal of Political Economy and the Review of

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Economic Studies at about 5% (Card & DellaVigna, 2013). However, while this article does highlight several essential aspects such as a decline in the number of published articles due to an increase in the selectiveness of the top economic journals over time, the article does not speak of any existing trends in the areas of focus of articles published. This paper therefore aims to fill this gap and to expand the data set chosen by
Card and DellaVigna (2013) of the top 5 economics journals to the top 10 economics journals and to use more recent data (2005-2014) to give a more accurate view given the ever-changing landscape of academia.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
3.

OBJECTIVES

This research aims to explore the underrepresentation of Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics journals. In doing so, this paper seeks to examine if Asiafocused research papers are less favored by the top 10 economics journals since after all, Lofthouse (1973) discovered a form of publishing bias exists in the world of academia. Lastly, this paper aims to explore the possibility that the fault of underrepresentation lies with the various universities who place pressures on their researchers to produce articles publishable in the top economics journals through the use of tenure and promotions incentive (or disincentive).

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
4.

METHODOLOGY

In order to establish the hypothesis of this paper, initial data of economics publications was gathered. To study the trends of the top economics journals, a list of renowned economics journals must first be compiled.
4.1

Phase 1: Top 10 Economics Journals Data Collection

4.1.1

Journals Ranking Method

Liebowitz and Palmer (1984) constructed a model (LP Method) to calculate the weighted-impact factor of journals to provide the “closest… ideal measure of the impact of the economics profession of manuscripts”, controlling for differences in character count and age, and, through a measure of the impact influence of citing journals, adjusting total citation counts. Kodrzycki and Yu (2006) attempted to improve the LP method by the development of a flexible, citation-adjusted technique based on a per article measure as opposed to the per-character measure adopted by the LP method.
While much effort has been devoted in an attempt to most accurately rank economics journals based on intellectual influence and while sources such as the Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) offer journal rankings, it must be acknowledged that the ranking of journals is a largely subjective measure, with each constructor having its own unique barometer (Sauer, 1988).

4.1.2

Shortlisted Economics Journals

For the purpose of this study, data from Citations in Economics (CitEc) and RePEc were used in order to shortlist 10 economics journals. These were selected based on the impact factor, citation count as well as citations per article. Table 1 below reflects the breakdown of from the years 2005 till 2014 inclusive.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

Table 1. Top Economics Journals
Impact
Journal Name
Citations Citations/Article
Factor
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
47.5
18,009
48.1
Journal of Economic Literature
43.3
7,319
43.7
Journal of Political Economy
28.1
9,480
29.2
Econometrica
24.6
14,034
25.4
Review of Economic Studies
23.8
10,749
24.0
The Journal of Finance
22.2
15,754
22.6
American Economic Review
18.0
40,536
18.7
Journal of Financial Economics
15.9
16,663
17.8
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity
15.6
1,872
15.8
The Rand Journal of Economics
8.9
3,588
9.1
Note. Extracted from IDEAS/RePEc, n.d., Research Division of the Federal Bank of St.
Louis
For the sake of clarity, the 10 journals reflected above shall hereinafter be known collectively as “Top 10 Economics Journals”.
Essential details of the individual research papers were documented. These included:
(i)

Name of authors and their respective affiliations
The aim of collection data on authors’ affiliation allows the understanding or perhaps the establishment of a possible link between the region of focus of research and the geographical location author’s affiliation(s).
In order to avoid under or over-representation by a particular affiliation, a weighted count was done. Each paper was assigned a weight of 1.00. This was then divided first by the number of authors and then further divided (if applicable) by the number of affiliations each author has. A similar method of apportionment was undertaken by Sauer (1988) in his estimation of the returns to quality and co-authorship in economic academia.
For example:

Implications of an
Economic Theory of
Conflict: Hindu-Muslim
Violence in India

Anirban Mitra
Debraj Ray

10

University of Oslo
New York
University
University of
Warwick

0.5
0.25
0.25

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Total Weight
(ii)

1.00

Category of papers
To ensure standardization, the Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification system was adopted. Please refer to Appendix I for the full list of JEL categories.
The categorization exercise highlights topics which are more widely researched, and could possibly explain why there is a lack of Asia-focused papers. (iii)

Region of focus
All Asia-focused research papers were highlighted. The purpose of this section is to confirm or refute the claim that there is generally a very low proportion of Asia-focused research papers in the top economics journals.

4.2

Phase 2: Conduct of Survey

The second phase involved the preparation and administration of an online survey.
Information gathered from this primary research method will allow the confirmation or refuting the claim that there is a general disinterest for academics to produce research papers which are Asia-focused due to tenure reasons or any other possible reasons.

4.2.1

Survey Objectives

The rationale of the survey is to enable the first-hand understanding of the publication history of academics as well as their opinions and comments with regard to the hypothesis of this paper.

4.2.2

Survey Sample

In order to ensure diversity of a sample, academics from the faculty of economics of the top 100 universities in Asia, in Europe and the in US were chosen. Through the respective college faculty websites, approximately 9,000 email addresses were collected. 11

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
4.2.3

Survey Administration

An email was sent out to the 9,000 members of faculty (Please see Appendix II for an email sample) requesting for their assistance in the participation of the survey.
Essentially, the email contained an introduction of this research and a link to a survey hosted by a popular online surface site (www.surveymonkey.com). The survey was opened for a period of 21 days. No time limit was imposed on the participants in answering the questions and participants were free to terminate the survey at any juncture. To avoid duplicate responses, the survey platform enabled the prevention of multiple participations by a single participant through the tracking of the participants IP addresses. However, it is essential to note that participant’s IP addresses were tracked merely for the purpose of avoidance of duplicate responses and in no way compromised the integrity of the confidentially agreement made to participants at the start of the survey. Please see Appendix III for the survey sample.

4.2.4

Survey Questions

“About You”
This basic information section aims to gather information of the participants’ academic rank, tenure and research experience.
Given that this paper attempts to examine the various reasons for the lack of Asiafocused articles in the top economics journals, the authors of this paper feel that tenure could well be a plausible explanation. This section thus assists in the analysis of such a reason. Asia-Focused Research Papers Published
This segment aims to understand and highlight the difference(s), if any, in the number of Asia-focused research papers that an economics faculty member produces before and after attaining tenure. Based on these questions, there are 3 possible outcomes:
The number of Asia-focused research papers produced prior to tenure is lower than that after tenure.
(If found to be true, it gives credence to the hypothesis that tenure is a causal factor of the lack of Asia-focused articles in the top economics journals)

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
The number of Asia-focused research papers produced before tenure is higher than that after tenure.
(If found to be true, it refutes the hypothesis that tenure is a causal factor of the lack of
Asia-focused articles in the top economics journals)
The number of Asia-focused research papers produced before tenure is the same as that after tenure.
(Inconclusive)
Top Economics Journals Publication
This segment aims to understand the participants’ history of publications in the top 10 economics journals prior to and after attaining tenure and number of which were Asiafocus. Given that prior research has shown a lack of representation of Asia-focused papers in the 10 selected journals, these questions will help understand whether there exists academics with a keen interest in Asia-focused studies, having produced a larger fraction of such papers relative to the other regions of the world.
Peer Reviewed Journals (Unpublished)
This segment aims to investigate if there exists academics who have a keen interest in
Asia-focused studies and producing relevant papers, but were unsuccessful in having them published. The distinction between the Asia-focused papers and the non-Asiafocused papers allows for the juxtaposition of the two and thereby helping to prove or refute the claim of this paper.
Open Ended Questions
This segment gave participants the opportunity in free-text to give their feedback and opinions as to why there is a general lack of Asia-focused papers despite the diversity and growth potential of the region. It also asked if participants felt that top economics journals had a greatly likelihood of rejecting papers that were Asia-focused and to give their opinions on that. This segment aims to give alternative possibilities for the lack of
Asia-focused papers in the top economics journals.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
5.
5.1

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF PHASE 1

Hypothesis

In 2013, Asia’s total GDP of US$18.5 trillion represents about 25% of the world’s total
GDP of US$73.98 trillion (IMF, 2014). With analysts expecting the big Asian players such as China and India to further expand in the next three decades, it is expected that the Asian region would gather much interest. However, it is understandable that research inertia exists in academics, and therefore, for the purpose of clarity, the “small fraction”, shall be defined as a percentage less than 25% of the total number of articles published. The formal statement of the hypothesis is:
HYPOTHESIS 0: The number of Asia-focused articles in 10 of the top economics journals represents a small fraction (25%) of the total number of articles published in the last 10 years (2005-2014).
The competing hypothesis shall then be that Asia-focused articles in the 10 of the top economics journals represents a share in excess of 25% of the total number of articles published. The formal statement of the hypothesis is:
HYPOTHESIS 1: The number of Asia-focused articles in 10 of the top economics journals represents more than a small fraction (25%) of the total number of articles published in the last 10 years (2005-2014).
5.2

Results: Affiliations

Based on data attained from the Top 10 economics journals from the years 2005 to
2014, a total of 5,199 articles were published. With a score of 1.0 assigned to each paper (as described in the Methodology Section), the total effective score is therefore
5,199.0. Table 2 below shows as summary of the findings.
Table 2. Total Papers Summary
Description
Figures
Total Effective Score
5,199.00
Asia-focused Paper Score
224.0
Percentage of Asia-focused Papers
4.3%

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
From the results above, it is apparent that Asia-focused articles comprise a very low proportion of all papers published in the top 10 economics journals with only 4.3%. In view of this, HYPOTHESIS 0, is strongly supported.
Excluding the National Bureau of Economic Research, the top 10 article publishing universities have a total combined score of 1333.9. At 25.7%, this represents a significant proportion of the total number of papers published. Table 3 below shows the breakdown scores for the top 10 article publishing universities.
Table 3. Affiliation Scores
S/No. Affiliation
0
National Bureau of Economic Research
1
Harvard University
2
University of Chicago
3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4
Stanford University
5
Northwestern University
6
New York University
7
University of Pennsylvania
8
Columbia University
9
Princeton University
10
University of California, Berkeley
Total (Excluding NBER)

Score
259.6
223.0
165.4
144.0
130.8
119.8
119.8
113.2
110.7
102.3
102.2
1333.9

Notably, these top 10 publishing universities are all located in the US According to the
Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings, these universities have consistently occupied the top echelons of university rankings in the world. Given their locations in the US, it is the opinion of the authors of this paper that there is some form of bias or specific preference towards the writing and eventual publishing of articles that are US or West-centric by both authors and publishers alike. Given the lack of existing studies, conclusions drawn can only be made and supported based on resulted derived from primary research data.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
5.3

Results: JEL Categories

According to the data gathering process, the following JEL categories have the highest number of articles published in the Top 10 economics journals from 2005-2014.
In descending order:
JEL G: Financial Economics

1,587 articles

JEL D: Microeconomics

923 articles

JEL J: Labor and Demographic Economics

510 articles

JEL C: Mathematical and Quantitative Methods

284 articles

JEL F: International Economics

228 articles

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

JEL: G (Financial Economics)

250

200

150

100

50

0

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Non-Asia Focused

2011

2012

2013

2014

Asia-Focused

2005
AsiaFocused
(AF)
Non-AsiaFocused
AF/Total
(%)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total

11

9

10

9

1

5

5

4

4

3

61

124

135

157

149

157

171

177

196

205

116

1587

8.1

6.3

6.0

5.7

0.6

2.8

2.7

2.0

1.9

2.5

3.7

Figure 1. Number of Research Papers in JEL: G Category (2005-2014)
JEL: G- Financial Economics relates to issues such as domestic and international financial markets, securities (which include, but are not limited to stocks, bonds, and commodity and other futures), financial institutions and services as well as corporate governance and finance (AEA, n.d.). These all play an important collective role in determining monetary policy for an economy.
Asia-focused papers on Financial Economics comprised 3.7% of the total number of articles within that category of the Top 10 economics journals in the last decade.
Notably, 2005 saw the greatest share of Asia-focused articles on Financial Economics published comprising 8.1% of papers published that year.

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JEL: D (Microeconomics)

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Non-Asia Focused

2011

2012

2013

2014

Asia-Focused

2005
AsiaFocused
(AF)
Non-AsiaFocused
AF/Total
(%)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total

4

0

5

4

2

1

0

0

6

2

24

57

111

96

79

93

95

117

115

99

61

923

6.6

0.0

5.0

4.8

2.1

1.0

0.0

0.0

5.7

3.2

2.5

Figure 2. Number of Research Papers in JEL: D Category (2005-2014)
JEL: D- Microeconomics is a study of the behavior of firms and households. The behaviors and decision-making process of these groups form the foundation of the basic economics theory of supply and demand. Premised on this theory, both consumers and firms alike in turn influence the price and output for the individual markets.
Asia-focused papers in Microeconomics comprised 2.5% of the total number of articles within that category of the Top 10 economics journals in the last decade. Notably, there were years where no Asia-focused articles on Microeconomics were produced.

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JEL: J (Labor & Demographic Economics)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Non-Asia Focused

2011

2012

2013

2014

Asia-Focused

2005
AsiaFocused
(AF)
Non-AsiaFocused
AF/Total
(%)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total

2

2

0

3

5

4

1

7

9

1

34

34

45

52

41

60

60

64

56

62

36

510

5.6

4.3

0.0

6.8

7.7

6.3

1.5

11.1

12.7

2.7

6.3

Figure 3. Number of Research Papers in JEL: J Category (2005-2014)
JEL: J- Labor and Demographic Economics entails a study of both microeconomic and macroeconomic issues in demographic economics and microeconomic issues in labor economics with the inclusion of economic development and personnel economics topics
(AEA, n.d.). Demographic economics studies human population in general while labor economics studies employment and wages in particular. Personnel economics, a new study in economics, studies labor economics from a human resource perspective.
Asia-focused papers in Labor and Demographic Economics comprised 6.3% of the total number of articles within that category of the Top 10 economics journals in the last decade. Notably, 2013 saw the greatest share of Asia-focused articles on Labor and
Demographic Economics published comprising 12.7% of papers published that year.

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JEL: C (Mathematical & Quantitative Methods)

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Non-Asia Focused

2011

2012

2013

2014

Asia-Focused

2005
AsiaFocused
(AF)
Non-AsiaFocused
AF/Total
(%)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

2

1

0

4

38

28

23

23

32

31

31

33

28

17

284

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

3.0

0.0

0.0

5.7

3.4

0.0

1.4

Figure 4. Number of Research Papers in JEL: C Category (2005-2014)
JEL: C- Mathematical and Quantitative Methods is simply the theoretical study behind the mathematical and quantitative methods used by economists and precludes any study of relevant application of such methods (AEA, n.d.). It can be used for in-depth analysis to prove or refute theoretical papers and explain economic trends. Formal econometric modeling was formed in the nineteenth century and then followed by game theory, which became broadly used, from the twentieth century. Generally, non-Asia-focused papers have the priority to use new empirical tests.
Asia-focused papers in Mathematical and Quantitative Methods comprised 1.4% of the total number of articles within that category of the Top 10 economics journals in the last decade. Notably, most years saw no Asia-focused articles on Mathematical and
Quantitative Methods produced.

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JEL: F (International Economics)

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Non-Asia Focused

2011

2012

2013

2014

Asia-Focused

2005
AsiaFocused
(AF)
Non-AsiaFocused
AF/Total
(%)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total

3

2

1

2

2

6

0

7

2

2

27

16

19

23

20

16

31

30

27

28

18

228

15.8

9.5

4.2

9.1

11.1

16.2

0.0

20.6

6.7

10.0

10.6

Figure 5. Number of Research Papers in JEL: F Category (2005-2014)
JEL: F- International Economics involves a study pertaining to policy issues on international trade and finance, factor movements and open-economy macroeconomics
(AEA, n.d.).
Asia-focused papers in International Economics comprised 10.6% of the total number of articles within that category of the Top 10 economics journals in the last decade.
Notably, 2012 saw the greatest share of Asia-focused articles on International
Economics articles published comprising 20.6% of papers published that year.

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FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

As shown in Figures 1-5, Asia-focused papers in the respective categories comprise at most 10% of all papers within the category. This further substantiates the claim that a
Western-centric bias exists in the publishing of papers. Hence, this could possibly imply that the probability of Asia-focused papers being published is lower while conversely,
Western-centric papers have greater publication priority.

The trend of subjects published changed in the past few decades; there was an increase in the number of Finance papers and decrease in Microeconomics and Labor papers from 1969 to 2007 (Kelly & Bruestle, 2011).

The authors hypothesize that the lack of Asia-focused papers may be due to an oversaturation of research papers in a particular category. Accordingly, applying Asian data to an existing study may not be considered sufficiently insightful for publication in top journals. New theory or new empirical research, which can be accumulated to the current knowledge base, is generally more preferable.

22

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
6.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF PHASE 2

Amongst the many factors that may motivate an academic to conduct research on Asian economies, attaining tenure from their respective universities is likely one of the leading reasons as highlighted by Katz (1973). However, as this is merely the hypothesis of the authors of this paper, results obtained from primary research data then be used to substantiate or rationalize otherwise the reasons for the low number of Asia-focused articles. In total, out of 9,000 invitations to participate in the survey, 316 responses were recorded at the time of closing. This represents an approximate participation rate of
3.5%. However, after the removal of incomplete responses, only 251 responses remain.
Although this lowers the overall participation rate, 251 responses is still within the good range for n, the number of observations to provide for reasonable statistical power.
While the response options given to participants were in ranges (i.e. 1-3 and 4-6) for ease of survey administration, these do not allow for statistical analysis. Hence, the averages of these shall be taken such that a response of 1-3 shall be regarded as 2 while one that is 4-6 shall be regarded as 5. For those whose responses are in excess of 15, 16 shall be taken as the numerical value for statistical evaluation.

23

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
6.1

General Respondent Demographics

Academic Ranks of Respondents
Full Professors comprised the largest segment of respondents making up 40% while senior lecturers made up the small percentage of about 2%. Respondents who filled the
10% of the Others category comprised mostly Emeritus Professors and Research
Fellows. In total, 62% of respondents are tenured while the remaining 38% are not.

Academic Ranks of Respondents

10%

2%

Full Professor

6%

Associate Professor

40%

Assistant Professor

Senior Lecturer

26%

Lecturer

Others

16%

Figure 6. Proportion of Respondents by Academic Ranks
6.2

Quantitative Analysis of Results

The first part of the analysis will be on the number of Asia-focused research papers published by academics before tenure and after tenure. Table 4 shows the number of academics who did not publish any Asia-focused research papers after tenure decreased compared to before tenure. The general trend observed is that academics publish more
Asia-focused research papers after tenure, with 4 out of 7 ranges seeing an increase in terms of percentage. Interestingly the number of academics who published 10 to 12
Asia-focused research papers after tenure compared to before tenure actually decreases.
However, this change is not significant as the absolute responses in that range is relatively small. The analysis could not be applied to the number of academics who publish 13 to 15 Asia-focused research papers after tenure compared to before tenure due to the denominator being 0.

24

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Table 4. Number of Asia-focused Papers Published Before/After Tenure
Asia-focused
Number of Responses
Papers
Change (%)
Before Tenure
After Tenure
Published
0
189
173
-8.47
1–3
37
41
10.81
4–6
10
14
40.00
7–9
5
6
20.00
10 – 12
5
3
-40.00
13 – 15
0
2
N.A.
>15
5
12
140.00
The result shows that there is an increase in the number of Asia-focused research papers published after tenure. This trend could stem from universities’ promotion and tenure requirements, which emphasize on publishing in top economics journals. Owing to the belief that non-AF papers could have a higher likelihood of being published, nontenured academics might thus prefer not to conduct AF research.
To check for consistency, the same analysis is applied to Asia-focused research papers published in the top 10 economics journals by academics before tenure and after tenure.
From Table 5, it can be seen that the number of academics who did not publish any
Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics Journals after tenure compared to before tenure increased marginally. Instead of an increment, it is observed that there is a decrease in the number of academics who publish 1 to 3 and 4 to 6 Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics journals. There is no change for the number of academics who publish 10 to 12 and 13 to 15 Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics journals as the response is 0 for these categories. The analysis could not be applied to the number of academics who publish 7 to 9 and above 15 Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics journals after tenure compared to before tenure due to the denominator being 0.

25

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Table 5. Number of Asia-focused Papers Published in the Top 10
Economics Journals Before/After Tenure
Asia-focused Papers
Number of Responses
Change
Published in Top 10
Before Tenure
After Tenure
(%)
Economics Journals
0
244
245
0.41%
1–3
6
3
-50.00%
4–6
1
0
-100.00%
7–9
0
2
N.A.
10 – 12
0
0
0
13 – 15
0
0
0
>15
0
1
N.A.
By observing the data alone, it is clear to see that the number of Asia-focused research papers published in the top 10 economics journals is very low. Due to the majority of responses being 0 publication in the top 10 economics journals, it is inconclusive whether tenure affects an academic’s decision to research on Asian economies. It is the hypothesis of the authors that the top 10 economics journals have a preference not to publish AF research papers or that academics, knowing the low possibility of having them published in top economics journals, either chose not to submit their articles or even conduct AF research.
For comparison purposes, the same analysis on research papers published shall be applied to the top 10 economics journals by academics before tenure and after tenure.
According to Table 6, academics who did not publish any research papers in the top 10 economics journal after obtaining tenure increased. With the exception of academics who published 1 to 3 research papers in the top 10 Economics journals, there is an increase in percentage for research papers published in the top 10 economics journals after tenure. The analysis could not be applied to the number of academics who publish
13 to 15 and above 15 research papers in the top 10 economics journals after tenure compared to before tenure due to the denominator being 0.

26

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Table 6. Number of Papers Published in the Top 10 Economics Journals
Before/After Tenure
Papers Published in Top
Number of Responses
Change
10 Economics Journals
Before Tenure
After Tenure
(%)
0
166
183
10.24%
1–3
72
32
-55.56%
4–6
10
18
80.00%
7–9
2
5
150.00%
10 – 12
1
6
500.00%
13 – 15
0
2
N.A.
>15
0
5
N.A.
Lastly, the asking of respondents about the number of Asia-focused research papers and non-Asia-focused research papers written but not published in peer reviewed journals seeks to highlight the fact that there is indeed too little emphasis placed on Asia by academics despite its growing status. By taking the average ratio of all responses, it shows that for every 100 research papers written but not published in peer reviewed journals, only 17.46 of them are Asia-focused. This shows that there seems to be a general preference not to conduct Asia-focused research, be it for publishing or not.
To further determine if tenure has an impact on the research papers published by academics, a one-tailed dependent t-test for paired samples with 250 degrees of freedom and at a 95% confidence level was applied to survey responses. The test will be applied to 3 different data sets. The first set of data is based on the number of Asia-focused research papers by academics after tenure and before tenure. Second, the number of
Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics journals by academics after tenure and before tenure. Lastly, the test was applied to the data obtained from the number of research papers in the top 10 economics journals by academics after tenure and before tenure. This is to determine whether there is a statistically significant mean difference between the number of research papers published by academics after tenure compared to before tenure, be it Asia-focused or not.

27

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Table 7. Asia-Focused Research Papers
Standard Standard 95% Confidence
Mean
T-Statistic
Error
Deviation
Interval

P-Value

After
1.80
0.25
3.95
1.3133 2.2962
Tenure
3.0928
0.0011
Before
1.19
0.19
3.00
0.8186 1.5639
Tenure
H0: Tenured academics publish the same number of Asia-focused research papers as they did before tenure
H1: Tenured academics publish more Asia-focused research papers than they did before tenure The t-test shows the mean of Asia-focused research paper after tenure to be 1.80 with a standard deviation of 3.95, a standard error of 0.25 and a 95% confidence interval of
1.3133-2.2962. Before tenure, the mean is 1.19 with a standard deviation of 3.00, a standard error of 0.19 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.8186-1.5639. The p-value at
0.0011 is lower than 0.05, H0 is rejected.
Table 8. Asia-Focused Research Papers in the Top 10 Economics Journals
Standard Standard 95% Confidence
Mean
T-Statistic P-Value
Error
Deviation
Interval
After
0.15
0.08
1.25
-0.0039 0.3067
Tenure
0.15
0.08
Before
0.07
0.03
0.44
0.0133
0.07
Tenure
H0: Tenured academics publish the same number of Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics journals as they did before tenure
H1: Tenured academics publish more Asia-focused research papers in the top 10 economics journals than they did before tenure
When the scope is narrowed down to Asia-focused research papers published in top 10 economics journals, the t-test shows the mean of Asia-focused research paper in the top
10 economic journals after tenure to be 0.15 with a standard deviation of 1.25, a standard error of 0.08 and a 95% confidence interval of -0.0039-0.0865. Before tenure, the mean is 0.07 with a standard deviation of 0.44, a standard error of 0.03 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.0133-0.1221. The p-value at 0.0865 is greater than 0.05, H0 is not rejected.

28

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Table 9. Research Papers in the Top 10 Economics Journals
Standard Standard 95% Confidence
Mean
T-Statistic
Error
Deviation
Interval

P-Value

After
1.47
0.21
3.32
1.0534 1.8789
Tenure
3.8072
1.47
Before
0.88
0.10
1.54
0.6891 1.0718
Tenure
H0: Tenured academics publish the same number of research papers in the top 10 economics journals as they did before tenure
H1: Tenured academics publish more research papers in the top 10 economics journals than they did before tenure
However, looking at research papers in general in the top 10 economics journals, the ttest shows the mean of research papers in the top 10 economic journals after tenure to be 1.47 with a standard deviation of 3.32, a standard error of 0.21 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.0534-1.8789. Before tenure, the mean is 0.88 with a standard deviation of
1.54, a standard error of 0.10 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.6891-1.0718. The pvalue at 0.0001 is lower than 0.05, H0 is rejected.
In summary, there are Asia-focused research papers being written prior to and after tenure. However, the number of these papers making it into the top 10 economics journals is very scant. Statistics further prove the difficulty to have research papers published in the top 10 economics journals as the number of general research paper in the top 10 economics journals is fewer even when compared with the number of Asiafocused research papers.
6.3

Qualitative Analysis of Results

Research findings have found that there is a general consensus (55.3% of free-text survey responses) amongst academics that the absence of readily available and reliable data on Asia is the leading cause for the lack of Asian research representation in the top economics journals. Unquestionably, top economics journals would demand data of the highest quality and reliability and several respondents have cited examples of difficulties faced when attempting to conduct study on Asia. Problems with data reliability is unsurprising as a 2014 survey conducted by Transparency International on
174 countries (of which 41 are Asian) showed that Asia had an average index score of
38.9, less than the world average of 43.2. With only 15 out of 41 Asian countries having

29

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09 an average score above the world average, it shows that a lack of integrity exists in
Asia.
Respondents also believe that research inertia is also to blame for the lack of Asiafocused articles in the top economics journals. Given that economics is a field of research that is traditionally US focused, respondents feel that a form of research inertia exists where researchers, owing to this tradition, have the belief that articles on US or
Western economies have a higher likelihood of being published. This then causes academics to be resistant from moving away from US or Western-centric studies and perpetuating the scarcity of Asia-focused articles. This research finding indeed supports this paper’s conjecture that researchers tend to have a Western-Centric research mindset. Furthermore, with most of the top economics journals being based in the US, some academics (10.0% of free-text survey responses) concede that journals tend to have a larger preference (publishing bias) for research on US economies given that the level of methodologies by most US economists are said to be stronger and more familiar with institutions. All said, given the requirement for accurate data by the top economics journals, the authors of this paper feel that the belief in the lack of reliable data on Asia is possibly the most important cause for the underrepresentation of Asia-focused papers in the Top
10 economics journals, other above-mentioned reasons notwithstanding. Based on these findings, it is possible to assert that it is indeed due to the respective universities’ emphasis on publishing in the top economics journals as part promotions and tenure requirements that academics are discouraged from Asia-focused research.

30

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
7.

LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

The main limitation of this research is that data collection concentrated on Asia-focused and non-Asia focused. Most of the papers published do not focus on specific regions.
With globalization and open economies, economies cannot stand alone since changes in one could possibly affect the rest. Thus, they must be viewed collectively. Alternatively, further research could encompass a wider range of top economics journals which have a greater preference for region specific articles as opposed to the 10 chosen for this study which may have a greater preference for neo-classical, non-region specific economics.
Second, due to time constraint and the lack of resources, a personal interview with each of the respondents was not possible and hence, an online survey was used for this study.
To further enhance the accuracy of this study, future research could adopt the aforementioned personal interview method.
Lastly, given that this study is the first of its sort, simple statistical methods and graphs were applied and used to highlight the lack of Asia-focused articles in the top economic journals. Based on this study, future research could encompass a more in-depth study, taking into account the above-mentioned possibilities and apply some form of econometric modeling for more a more detailed and extensive study. Furthermore, while this study has attempted to explore possible reasons for such underrepresentation, a more detailed study could be done to understand the factors affecting such underrepresentation. 31

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
8.

CONCLUSION

The authors of this paper present the fact that there exists an underrepresentation of
Asia-focused articles in the top 10 economics journals. In two phases, this claim has been substantiated and through a survey of academics from around, several possible reasons for this lack of Asia-focused articles were found. Nevertheless, it is the authors’ conjecture that tenure is the main underlying cause.
However, given that the aim of this paper was not to find possible reasons but to highlight the shortage of Asia-focused articles in the top 10 economics journals, it is proposed that future research be done to investigate in greater detail, the reasons for such underrepresentation. If tenure is indeed found to be the leading cause for the shortage of Asia-focused articles in the top economics journals, perhaps universities worldwide should review their tenure and promotion requirements while top journals should remember that knowledge should be a matter with no bounds and should not be constrained to a particular region or regions.

32

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
9.

REFERENCES

AEA. (n.d.). Appendix A of JEL Classification System / EconLit Subject Descriptors.
AEA. (n.d.). JEL Classification Codes Guide. Tennessee: American Economic
Association.

Ali, N. S., Young, H. C., & Ali, N. M. (1996). Determining the Quality of Publications and Research for Tenure or Promotion Decisions: A Preliminary Checklist to
Assist. Library Review , 45 (1), 39-53.
Berghe, P. v. (1970). Academic Gamesmanship. London: Abelard-Schuman.
Card, D., & DellaVigna, S. (2013). Nine Facts About Top Journals in Economics.
NBER Working Paper Series (18665).
Conley, J. P. (2012). Low Acceptance Rates, Commerical Publishing, and the Future of
Scholarly Communication. 32 (4), 37.

Desker, B. (2013, February 1). Why the World Must Listen More Carefully to Asia’s
Rising Powers. Retrieved March 2014, 12, from Europe's World: http://europesworld.org/2013/02/01/why-the-world-must-listen-more-carefullyto-asias-rising-powers/#.VQE-Rr5sSfR Fouré, J., Bénassy-Quéré, A., & Fontagné, L. (2010). The World Economy in 2050: A
Tentative Picture. CEPII Working Paper (2010), 2010-2027.
IDEAS/RePEC. (n.d.). IDEAS/RePEc Simple Impact Factors for Journals. Research
Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

IMF. (2014). World Economic Outlook. Washingon, D.C: International Monetary Fund.

Kawai, M., & Petri, P. A. (2014). Asia's Role in the Global Economic Architecture.
Contemporary Economic Policy , 32 (1), 230-245.
Katz, D. A. (1973). Faculty Salaries, Promotions, and Productivity at a Large
University. The American Economic Review , 63 (3), 469-477.
Kelly, M. A., & Bruestle, S. (2011). Trend of Subjects Published in Economics Journals
1969-2007. Economic Enquiry , 49 (3), 658-673.
Kodrzycki, Y. K., & Yu, P. D. (2006). New Approaches to Ranking Economics
Journals. FRB Boston Working Paper (5-12).

Liebowitz, S. J., & Palmer, J. P. (1984). Assessing the Relative Impacts of Economics
Journals. Journal of Economic Literature , 22 (1), 77-88.

Lofthouse, S. (1974). Thoughts on "Publish" or "Perish". Higher Education , 3 (1), 5979.

33

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
Sauer, R. D. (1988). Estimates on the Returns to Quality of Coauthorship in Economic
Academia. Journal of Political Economic , 96 (4), 855-866.
Strauss, R. P. (1971). A Younger Economist's Views on the Market. The American
Economic Review , 61 (2), 327-333.

Transparency International. (2015). Corruption Perceptions Index 2014: Results.
Berlin: Transparency International.

34

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09
APPENDIX I
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC LITERATURE (JEL) CATEGORIES
JEL: A – General Economics, Handbooks and Teaching
JEL: B – History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches
JEL: C – Mathematical and Quantitative Methods
JEL: D – Microeconomics
JEL: E – Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
JEL: F – International Economics
JEL: G – Financial Economics
JEL: H – Public Economics
JEL: I – Health, Education, and Welfare
JEL: J – Labor and Demographic Economics
JEL: K – Law and Economics
JEL: L – Industrial Organization
JEL: M – Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting
JEL: N – Economic History
JEL: O – Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth
JEL: P – Economic Systems
JEL: Q – Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological
Economics
JEL: R – Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
JEL: Y – Miscellaneous Categories
JEL: Z – Other Special Topics
Note. Extracted from AEA, n.d., American Economic Association

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

APPENDIX II
SAMPLE OF EMAIL REQUESTING FOR SURVEY PARTICIPATION

Economics Publications Survey

Economic Publications Survey: Introduction
All inputs shall be aggregated for the purpose of this study. Individual responses shall not be disclosed and shall be held in the strictest confidence.

* Your decision to participate in this research is voluntary and completely up to you. You may

withdraw from this research at any time without giving any reasons by closing the web browser. All the data collected will be discarded.

j k l m n Yes, I agree to be part of this study.

j k l m n No, I do not agree to be part of this study.

Page 1

Economics Publications Survey

About You

* What is your current academic rank?

j k l m n Full Professor

j k l m n Associate Professor j k l m n Assistant Professor

j k l m n Senior Lecturer

j k l m n Lecturer

j k l m n Other (please specify)

* Are you currently tenured? j k l m n Yes j k l m n No

* How many years of research experience do you have?

j k l m n 0 ­ 5 years

j k l m n 6 ­ 10 years

j k l m n 11 ­ 15 years

j k l m n 16 ­ 20 years

j k l m n 21 ­ 25 years

j k l m n 26 ­ 30 years

j k l m n 31 ­ 35 years j k l m n >35 years

* What is your current age?

j k l m n 26 ­ 30 years

j k l m n 31 ­ 35 years

j k l m n 36 ­ 40 years

j k l m n 41 ­ 45 years

j k l m n 46 ­ 50 years

j k l m n 51 ­ 55 years

j k l m n 56 ­ 60 years

j k l m n 61 ­ 65 years j k l m n >65 years

Page 2

Economics Publications Survey

Asia Focused Research Papers Published

* How many Asia focused research papers have you published prior to your tenure? j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6 j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12 j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

* How many Asia focused research papers have you published after your tenure? j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6 j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12 j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

Page 3

Economics Publications Survey

Top Economic Journals Publication

* How many research papers have you published in the Top 10 Economic Journals* prior to your tenure?

*Top 10 Economic Journals (Extracted: http://www.journal­ranking.com, Sep 2014)
Journal of Political Economy
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
Econometrica
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity
Review of Economic Studies
Journal of Economic Literature
Journal of Financial Economics
The Rand Journal of Economics
American Economic Review
The Journal of Finance j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6 j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12 j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

* How many research papers have you published in the Top 10 Economic Journals* after your tenure?

j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6 j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12 j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

Page 4

Economics Publications Survey

* How many Asia focused research papers have you published in the Top 10 Economic
Journals* prior to your tenure?

j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6 j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12 j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

* How many Asia focused research papers have you published in the Top 10 Economic
Journals* after your tenure?

j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6 j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12 j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

Page 5

Economics Publications Survey

Peer Review Journals (Unpublished)

* What is the number of Asia focused papers which you have written but not published in peer­reviewed journals?

j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6 j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12 j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

* What is the number of non­Asia focused papers which you have written but not published in peer­reviewed journals?

j k l m n 0

j k l m n 1 ­ 3 j k l m n 4 ­ 6

j k l m n 7 ­ 9

j k l m n 10 ­ 12

j k l m n 13 ­ 15

j k l m n >15

Page 6

Economics Publications Survey

Your Opinions and Comments
In your opinion, what are the other factors that may dissuade academics from doing research on
Asian economies?
5
6

Do you think that Asian focused research topics have a lower likelihood to be published in the top economic journals? Why?
5
6

Page 7

Economics Publications Survey

Contact Information (OPTIONAL)

* Are you interested in participating in our lucky draw to win an Apple iPad? j k l m n Yes j k l m n No

* Do you wish to receive the findings of our study? j k l m n Yes j k l m n No

In order to be eligible for our lucky draw or to receive the findings of our study, please leave us your contact details. Your details shall held in the strictest confidence and shall not be disclosed to any party or parties. Name
Affiliation
Country
Email Address

Page 8

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

APPENDIX IV
T-TEST (ASIA-FOCUSED RESEARCH PAPERS)
. ttest posttenure == pretenure
Paired t test
Variable

Obs

Mean

Std. Err.

Std. Dev.

[95% Conf. Interval]

postte~e preten~e 251
251

1.804781
1.191235

.2495393
.1892245

3.953446
2.99788

1.313314
.8185577

2.296248
1.563912

diff

251

.6135458

.1983805

3.142937

.2228358

1.004256

mean(diff) = mean(posttenure - pretenure)
Ho: mean(diff) = 0
Ha: mean(diff) < 0
Pr(T < t) = 0.9989

t = degrees of freedom =

Ha: mean(diff) != 0
Pr(|T| > |t|) = 0.0022

3.0928
250

Ha: mean(diff) > 0
Pr(T > t) = 0.0011

T-TEST (ASIA-FOCUSED RESEARCH PAPERS IN THE TOP 10 ECONOMIC
JOURNALS)
. ttest posttenure == pretenure
Paired t test
Variable

Obs

Mean

Std. Err.

Std. Dev.

postte~e preten~e 251
251

diff

251

.1513944
.0677291

.0788611
.0276139

1.249395
.4374865

-.0039224
.0133435

.3067113
.1221146

.0836653

.0612282

.9700372

-.0369235

.2042542

mean(diff) = mean(posttenure - pretenure)
Ho: mean(diff) = 0
Ha: mean(diff) < 0
Pr(T < t) = 0.9135

[95% Conf. Interval]

t = degrees of freedom =

Ha: mean(diff) != 0
Pr(|T| > |t|) = 0.1730

1.3665
250

Ha: mean(diff) > 0
Pr(T > t) = 0.0865

FYP Project Number: HE_2AY1415_09

T-TEST (RESEARCH PAPERS IN THE TOP 10 ECONOMIC JOURNALS)
. ttest posttenure == pretenure
Paired t test
Variable

Obs

Mean

Std. Err.

Std. Dev.

[95% Conf. Interval]

postte~e preten~e 251
251

1.466135
.8804781

.2095893
.0971641

3.320519
1.539369

1.05335
.6891135

1.878921
1.071843

diff

251

.5856574

.1538307

2.437136

.2826881

.8886266

mean(diff) = mean(posttenure - pretenure)
Ho: mean(diff) = 0
Ha: mean(diff) < 0
Pr(T < t) = 0.9999

t = degrees of freedom =

Ha: mean(diff) != 0
Pr(|T| > |t|) = 0.0002

3.8072
250

Ha: mean(diff) > 0
Pr(T > t) = 0.0001

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