Replication in Economics: How Much? And What Matters?

[From the abstract of the forthcoming paper, “Replication studies in economics—How many and which papers are chosen for replication, and why?” by Frank Mueller-Langer, Benedikt Fecher, Dietmar Harhoff, and Gert G. Wagner, forthcoming in the journal, Research Policy]
“We investigate how often replication studies are published in empirical economics and what types of journal articles are replicated. We find that between 1974 and 2014 0.1% of publications in the top 50 economics journals were replication studies. We consider the results of published formal replication studies (whether they are negating or reinforcing) and their extent: Narrow replication studies are typically devoted to mere replication of prior work, while scientific replication studies provide a broader analysis. We find evidence that higher-impact articles and articles by authors from leading institutions are more likely to be replicated, whereas the replication probability is lower for articles that appeared in top 5 economics journals. Our analysis also suggests that mandatory data disclosure policies may have a positive effect on the incidence of replication.”
To access the article, click here (but note that it is behind a paywall).

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