A0539
Title: Journal rankings and publication strategy
Authors: Oleksandr Talavera - University of Birmingham (United Kingdom) [presenting]
Piotr Spiewanowski - Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
Abstract: The impact of journal ranking systems on the publication outlet choice is investigated. We analyse the life cycle of 15,555 working papers uploaded by UK-based scholars registered on IDEAS/RePEc repository since 2010. The estimates suggest two main facts. Authors strategically choose outlets to maximize their publication scores. The identification strategy is based on exploiting the change in the British ABS journal ranking in 2015. Working papers written before the 2015 ABS journal ranking change are significantly less likely to be published in ex-post downgraded journals. The effect cannot be attributed to the overall change in the journal quality.
