Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282698 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16571
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
For papers to have scientific impact, they need to impress our peers in their role as referees, journal editors, and members of conference committees. Does better writing help our papers make it past these gatekeepers? In this study, we estimate the effect of writing quality by comparing how 30 economists judge the quality of papers written by PhD students in economics. Each economist judged five papers in their original version and five different papers that had been language edited. No economist saw both versions of the same paper. Our results show that writing matters. Compared to the original versions, economists judge edited versions as higher quality; they are more likely to accept edited versions for a conference; and they believe that edited versions have a better chance of being accepted at a good journal.
Subjects: 
academic writing
writing quality
economics
randomized experiment
JEL: 
A10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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