Events at CERGE-EI

Presenter: Roman Dimakov (CERGE-EI PhD Student)

Title: "Social Interaction and Scientists’ Productivity: Evidence from Historical Correspondence Networks in Quantum Mechanics, 1919–1932."

Abstract: What is the role of personal communication among researchers in the diffusion of knowledge and productivity? In this paper, I study how pre-existing social links to the key founders of a breakthrough new theory in physics affected the productivity of connected scientists. I consider a major shock to science: the discovery of quantum mechanics in 1925 and its surrounding years, 1919–1932. To approximate scientists’ exposure to the discovery via personal interaction, I use historical correspondence data among physicists – letters exchanged – to track their pre-discovery social links to the key founders of quantum mechanics. I complement the correspondence data with publication and citation data from the Web of Science. I estimate the dynamic ATTs of social connections with the founders on scientist productivity – publications and citations – using Event Study Diff-in-Diffs. To support the parallel trends assumption, I apply Double Robust Inverse Propensity Weighting, reweighting the control group with propensity scores based on pre-discovery scientist-level covariates. The no-anticipation assumption is supported by historical evidence on the unexpected arrival of quantum mechanics, its rapid development, and its new formalism and concepts, including matrices and uncertainty. I find that physicists who directly exchanged letters with the founders of quantum mechanics before the discovery – the first neighbours in the network – published significantly more and produced higher-quality work, measured by citations within 5 and 25 years after publication. The effect is around 15% of the pre-treatment mean. This paper contributes to the literature on social interaction, knowledge diffusion, and the economics of science and innovation.

Link to join online: https://cerge-ei.webex.com/cerge-ei/j.php?MTID=m032907b1d9c4d42ae6e6b31007df1430
Meeting number: 2742 186 3124
Meeting password: 332694