A historical portrait of female economists' co-authorship networks
Publication type
journal article
Publication date
2022
Author(s)
Hengel, Erin
Phythian-Adams, Sarah Louisa
Language
English
Discipline(s)
Abstract
This paper describes how women have contributed to the research published in influential general interest journals between 1940–2019. We find that the share of women published in these journals follows a U-shaped curve that troughs in the late 1970s—a decline that is possibly related to an increase in the number of papers being published as well as a rise in co-authoring. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, the share of women began increasing again, largely thanks to a rise in mixed-gendered papers. Co-authorship between women, on the other hand, was almost non-existent until around 2010. A decade-by-decade comparison of men’s and women’s co-authorship networks suggests female–female networks in the most recent decade in our data (2010–2019) roughly resemble male networks from earlier decades (1940–1969); they also highlight the key role prominent individuals play in network formation. We hypothesise that the recent growth in papers by female teams may signal that research by women collaborating with other women is receiving greater recognition in the field.
Journal
History of Political Economy
ISSN
0018-2702
Pagination
18