Replication in Labor Economics: Evidence from Data, and What It Suggests

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

188 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Examining the most heavily cited publications in labor economics from the early 1990s, I show that few of over 3,000 articles, citing them directly, replicates them. They are replicated more frequently using data from other time periods and economies, so that the validity of their central ideas has typically been verified. This pattern of scholarship suggests, beyond the currently required depositing of data and code upon publication, that there is little need for formal mechanisms for replication. The market for scholarship already produces replications of non-laboratory applied research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-40
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican Economic Review
Volume107
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2017

Keywords

  • replication policy
  • empirical economics

Cite this