Working Paper: NBER ID: w19866
Authors: Benjamin Jones; EJ Reedy; Bruce A. Weinberg
Abstract: Great scientific output typically peaks in middle age. A classic literature has emphasized comparisons across fields in the age of peak performance. More recent work highlights large underlying variation in age and creativity patterns, where the average age of great scientific contributions has risen substantially since the early 20th Century and some scientists make pioneering contributions much earlier or later in their life-cycle than others. We review these literatures and show how the nexus between age and great scientific insight can inform the nature of creativity, the mechanisms of scientific progress, and the design of institutions that support scientists, while providing further insights about the implications of aging populations, education policies, and economic growth.
Keywords: scientific output; scientific genius; age; creativity; economic growth
JEL Codes: J11; O31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| age (J14) | scientific genius (C90) |
| age (J14) | great scientific output (O47) |
| great scientific output (O47) | peak performance in middle age (J26) |
| age of contributions (D64) | variations in peak performance (D29) |