Legal Origin and the Unequal Treatment of Scientific Articles

Abstract

We analyze whether editors of top-tier journals bias acceptance decisions due to cultural values that are unrelated to academic merits. Specifically, while editors raised in common law countries tend to base their acceptance decision solely on scientific merits, editors raised in civil law countries may also consider issues of solidarity, which refers to support between various groups and individuals in their country. Our results show the fraction of accepted articles by authors affiliated with a civil law country increases by a third when an editor from that same country serves at the journal. This phenomenon prevails also across civil law countries that are under the EU. Moreover, articles by EU authors that are accepted when an EU editor serves at the journal have a 10% lower impact compared to similar articles. The findings are consistent with the idea that cultural values foster agency behavior and hinder the progress of science.