University of Zurich Department of Economics Working Paper Series ISSN 1664-7041 (print) ISSN 1664-705X (online) Working Paper No. 111 Does The John Bates Clark Medal Boost Subsequent Productivity And Citation Success? Ho Fai Chan, Bruno S. Frey, Jana Gallus and Benno Torgler February 2013 1 Does The John Bates Clark Medal Boost Subsequent Productivity And Citation Success? Ho Fai Chan, Bruno S. Frey, Jana Gallus, and Benno Torgler∗ Abstract: Despite the social importance of awards, they have been largely disregarded by academic research in economics. This paper investigates whether a specific, yet important, award in economics, the John Bates Clark Medal, raises recipients’ subsequent research activity and status compared to a synthetic control group of non- recipient scholars with similar previous research performance. We find evidence of positive incentive and status effects that raise both productivity and citation levels. JEL classifications: A13, C23, M52 Keywords: Awards, Incentives, Research, John Bates Clark Medal, Synthetic control method ∗ Ho Fai Chan: Queensland Behavioural Economics Group (QuBE), School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology (Email:
[email protected]); Bruno S. Frey: Warwick Business School, University of Warwick and Department of Economics, Zeppelin University (Email:
[email protected]); Jana Gallus: Department of Economics, University of Zurich (Email:
[email protected]); Benno Torgler: Queensland Behavioural Economics Group (QuBE), School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, and EBS Business School, EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht. Frey and Torgler: Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). Please address all correspondence to Benno Torgler:
[email protected].