Trends in the publication of experimental economics articles

The distribution of published scientific evidence is biased. There is accumulating evidence of the frequent use of questionable publishing practices and questionable research practices, and current solutions are limited (e.g., pre-registration). This has important undesirable consequences for policy-oriented areas such as agricultural economics. In this article, we discuss a potential solution: Registered Reports. We first provide an overview of the Registered Report publication format. We demonstrate how Registered Reports outperform pre-registration, while also efficiently contributing to reducing questionable research practices, canceling questionable publishing practices, and providing more reliable results that can inform evidence-based policymaking. Second, we present a benchmark of Registered Reports in economics today and discuss potential barriers using survey data from economic journal editors. Lastly, we highlight the importance of developing the Registered Report publication format in agricultural economics.

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Field Experiments: Here Today Gone Tomorrow?

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2024

The American Economist

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Once believed to be an impossibility, field experiments in economics now occupy a central place in the empiricist’s quiver. In the past few decades alone, field experiments have taken on much greater import in academe, across organizations, as well as for policymakers. But is this emergence simply a fad that will soon return field experiments to obscurity? I argue in this article that there is something fundamental about the emergence of field experiments, as controlling the assignment mechanism in the field provides unparalleled power to both understand the “effects of causes” and the “causes of effects”. This knowledge generation then begins to uncover the generalizability of knowledge. Quite the opposite of a withering tool that will be gone tomorrow, I urge economists to “double down” on this comparative advantage and in doing so I provide four methodological paths which I hope will cement the promise and growth of field experiments in the social sciences.

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Trends in the publication of experimental economics articles

Cited by 3 publications

References 7 publications

Changing perceptions about experimentation in economics: 50 years of evidence from principles textbooks

Changing perceptions about experimentation in economics: 50 years of evidence from principles textbooks

Registered reports and associated benefits for agricultural economics

Field Experiments: Here Today Gone Tomorrow?

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