Scientific Prizes And Post-Award Attention: Evidence From The Nobel Prize In Economics

Abstract

We examine how prize announcements in economics influence the attention of insiders and outsiders to the field. Insiders pay greatest attention to consensus papers cited by the Nobel Prize Committee and written by past Clark Medal winners; outsiders focus more on consensus papers not written by Clark Medal awardees. In both cases, the entry of new citing authors accounts for most of the enhanced attention. We also consider the direct impact of the Clark Medal on citations and find effects comparable to those arising with the Nobel Prize. Our results imply that prizes enhance the leadership role of star scientists.