Self-referentiality and asymmetric knowledge flows between journals. The case of economics

2026-04-20

AI Summary

This study investigates structural shifts in the flow of economic knowledge before and after the 2008 financial crisis, with a focus on evolving self-citation patterns and asymmetric knowledge diffusion. Integrating citation analysis, journal clustering based on knowledge similarity and social proximity, and multilevel measures of directional asymmetry, the authors develop a three-tier analytical framework spanning disciplines, clusters, and individual journals. The findings reveal a general decline in economics-wide self-citation rates, yet a marked increase within the CORE cluster—centered on top-tier journals—exhibiting a dual trend of “closed core, open periphery.” The CORE cluster functions as the discipline’s primary net exporter of knowledge, whereas Finance remains largely insular and heavily reliant on CORE, underscoring the role of editorial networks in structurally shaping knowledge visibility and circulation.

Technology Category

• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Coordination and Collaboration
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Graph Mining, Social Network Analysis & Community
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Action, Change, and Causality

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Sustainability of Web economics
• Semantics and Knowledge: Scalable techniques for the creation, curation, publication, maintenance, and consumption of large, Web-based, structured, reusable, knowledge graphs and ontologies
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Content-based information diffusion

Abstract

This paper investigates the evolution of self-referentiality and knowledge flows in economics journals before and after the 2008 financial crisis. Using a multi-level approach, we analyze patterns at the discipline, cluster, and journal levels, combining citational measures with a classification of journals based on intellectual similarity and social proximity. At the aggregate level, results suggest a general decline in self-referentiality, indicating increased openness across the discipline. However, this trend conceals substantial heterogeneity. At finer levels of analysis, two clusters - CORE and Finance - emerge as persistent outliers, exhibiting very high levels of self-referentiality. While Finance experienced a gradual reduction over time, the CORE shows increasing closure. By examining reference asymmetries, we uncover a hierarchical structure of knowledge flows. The CORE operates as a central hub and net exporter of knowledge to all other clusters, particularly to the traditional core fields of economics, whereas Finance acts as a net exporter only within its own domain and remains dependent on the CORE. These asymmetries are reinforced at the level of individual journals, where a small set of top journals occupies the apex of a hierarchically ordered system of knowledge transmission. We argue that these patterns reflect the interplay between intellectual dynamics and organizational structures, particularly the role of editorial networks in shaping access to publication and visibility. The findings suggest that, following the financial crisis, economics has experienced a process of increasing epistemic and organizational closure at its core, alongside greater openness in peripheral areas. This dual dynamic raises questions about the representativeness of top journals and the evolving structure of the discipline.

Problem

• self-referentiality
• knowledge flows
• asymmetric citations
• journal hierarchy
• epistemic closure

Innovation

• self-referentiality
• asymmetric knowledge flows
• journal hierarchy
• intellectual clusters
• editorial networks