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The citation performance of the references in the standard graduate-level microeconomics textbook: Mas-Collel et al. (1995)

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Abstract

The Microeconomic Theory by (Mas-Colell et al., Microeconomic Theory, Oxford University Press, 1995) has become the standard microeconomics textbook in economics PhD programs shortly after its publication. Despite 25 years having passed since the first and only edition, the textbook is still used predominantly in these programs. In this paper, we investigate the citation performance of the references in the textbook after 1995. We selected a comparison group of publications that have similar citation performance as the references in the textbook before 1995. We find that the references in the textbook have performed better than the comparison group of publications after 1995. Therefore, we conclude that one of the reasons for the success of the textbook might the careful choice of its references.

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Notes

  1. The survey was conducted in March–April 2021. The e-mail addresses of the students were easily accessible as economics PhD programs typically make the contact information of students on the job market publicly available.

  2. The Shanghai 2020 economics subject ranking can be accessed at < shanghairanking.com/Shanghairanking-Subject-Rankings/economics.html > .

  3. We received responses from 15 students who were selected first, 8 students who were selected second, and 7 students that were selected third to fifth. There were two institutions where we ran out of students and had to send e-mails multiple times.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Management, Department of Economics, Istanbul Technical University, Macka, 34367, Istanbul, Turkey

    Tolga Yuret

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  1. Tolga Yuret
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Correspondence to Tolga Yuret.

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Yuret, T. The citation performance of the references in the standard graduate-level microeconomics textbook: Mas-Collel et al. (1995). Scientometrics 128, 1473–1484 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04650-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04650-4

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