Discussion paper

DP8558 The Impact of Economics Blogs

There is a proliferation of economics blogs, with increasing numbers of economists attracting large numbers of readers, yet little is known about the impact of this new medium. Using a variety of experimental and non-experimental techniques, we try to quantify some of their effects. First, links from blogs cause a striking increase in the number of abstract views and downloads of economics papers. Second, blogging raises the profile of the blogger (and his institution) and boosts their reputation above economists with similar publication records. Finally, we find that a blog can transform attitudes about some of the topics it covers.

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Citation

McKenzie, D and B Özler (2011), ‘DP8558 The Impact of Economics Blogs‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 8558. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp8558