Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10980
Authors: Pierre Azoulay; Christian Fons-Rosen; Joshua S. Graff Zivin
Abstract: We study the extent to which eminent scientists shape the vitality of their fields by examining entry rates into the fields of 452 academic life scientists who pass away while at the peak of their scientific abilities. Key to our analyses is a novel way to delineate boundaries around scientific fields by appealing solely to intellectual linkages between scientists and their publications, rather than collaboration or co-citation patterns. Consistent with previous research, the flow of articles by collaborators into affected fields decreases precipitously after the death of a star scientist (relative to control fields). In contrast, we find that the flow of articles by non-collaborators increases by 8% on average. These additional contributions are disproportionately likely to be highly cited. They are also more likely to be authored by scientists who were not previously active in the deceased superstar's field. Overall, these results suggest that outsiders are reluctant to challenge leadership within a field when the star is alive and that a number of barriers may constrain entry even after she is gone. Intellectual, social, and resource barriers all impede entry, with outsiders only entering subfields that offer a less hostile landscape for the support and acceptance of "foreign" ideas.
Keywords: cumulative knowledge production; economics of science; invisible college; scientific fields; superstars
JEL Codes: O3; O31; O43
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Death of a superstar scientist (B32) | Decline in publication rates by collaborators (A14) |
| Death of a superstar scientist (B32) | Increase in publication activity by non-collaborators (O36) |
| Presence of a superstar scientist (D29) | Deter entry by outsiders (F55) |
| Death of a superstar scientist (B32) | Shift in intellectual direction within the subfield (B52) |