Economics Research in France: Tentative Conclusions Based on EconLit Database

摘要

Despite France’s influential role in and significant impact on the development ofeconomic thought in the past, it seems that no recent publication has assembled anup-to-date inventory of its internationally best known contemporary economists. Thepurpose of this study, therefore, is to produce an exploratory survey for 1998 of thescientific contributions of representative economics research groups in France based onthe EconLit bibliographic database. Three indicators, one relating to overall visibility,one to net production and one to international presence, have been used to evaluateand compare two major categories of representative groups: the “French specificity”category [including Conseil National des Universités (CNU) and agrégationgroups] and another made up of more “traditional” groups (including editorialcommittees of journals and the chairmen and management committee of a nationalassociation of economists). The results indicate a clear dichotomy between the two.Moreover, the poor performance of the first of the above categories measured by allthree indicators raises serious questions about the way the public university systemoperates in France and the future implications thereof in the light of the globalisationof the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge.