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Myra Mohnen

University College London, United Kingdom

Author: Myra Mohnen

Abstract: This paper empirically investigates the importance of network position for the productivity of scientists. I examine the role played by scientists who act as “bridges” on the productivity of their coauthors. I propose a pair–specific  measure, called broker- age degree, based on the share of links of a scientist that provide exclusive  access to new scientists for his coauthor. Using individual level panel data for medical scientists covering 19 million publications between 1965 and 2013, I construct the coauthorship network.  I exploit sudden and unexpected deaths of stars as a natural experiment which exogenously breaks network links and changes the structure of the network. My results reveal heterogeneous peer effects: depending on the network position of the deceased star scientist, the relative loss in annual publications can be up to 50% for the average coauthor.  The number of new coauthorship formed and new topics explored are also negatively affected. Results support the hypothesis that the access to knowledge flows embodied in scientists further away plays a crucial role in scientific production.

JEL-Classification: J24, O31, O35

Keywords: peer effects, productivity, innovation

Full Text:  “Stars and Brokers: Peer Effects among Medical Scientists”