disciplineseconomics

Disciplineseconomics is an interdisciplinary field that applies economic theory and empirical methods to study the organization, incentives, and behavior of academic disciplines and professional fields. It treats disciplines as institutions with distinct governance structures, funding streams, reward systems, and reputational economies, and asks how these factors shape research agendas and knowledge production.

Methodology and topics include the use of microeconomic models, game theory, and econometrics to analyze funding allocation, hiring and tenure, publication markets, peer review, and collaboration networks. Topics commonly examined are efficiency of funding distribution, the incentive effects of prestige metrics (such as journal impact factors and h-indices), the economics of peer review, interdisciplinarity, and open science across fields.

Relation to other fields: It overlaps with the economics of science, science and technology studies, and higher education economics. It differs by focusing on discipline-level governance and incentives rather than broad sociological accounts of science, and by emphasizing testable economic models and cross-disciplinary comparisons.

Critiques and limitations: Critics warn that economic models may oversimplify cultural and institutional contexts; boundaries between disciplines are porous and evolving; data on funding, hiring, and publishing can be incomplete or biased; and heavy reliance on metrics can distort behavior. Proponents advocate careful, pluralistic use of models and robust cross-disciplinary data.

History and usage: The term disciplineseconomics has emerged in recent scholarship as researchers seek to quantify and compare how different disciplines organize themselves. It functions as a lens for policymakers, researchers, and university administrators to assess incentives, outcomes, and reform options within fields.