To replicate or not to replicate?: exploring reproducibility in economics through the lens of a model and a pilot study

Maniadis, Zacharias; Tufano, Fabio; List, John A.

Abstract

The sciences are in an era of an alleged ‘credibility crisis’. In this study, we discuss the reproducibility of empirical results, focusing on economics research. By combining theory and empirical evidence, we discuss the import of replication studies, and whether they improve our confidence in novel findings. The theory sheds light on the importance of replications, even when replications are subject to bias. We then present a pilot meta-study of replication in experimental economics, a subfield serving as a positive benchmark for investigating the credibility of economics. Our meta-study highlights certain difficulties when applying meta-research to systematise the economics literature.

Citation

Maniadis, Z., Tufano, F., & List, J. A. (in press). To replicate or not to replicate?: exploring reproducibility in economics through the lens of a model and a pilot study. Economic Journal, 127, Article F209-F235. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12527

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 9, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Oct 24, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 30, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 25, 2019
• Journal: Economic Journal
• Print ISSN: 0013-0133
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-0297
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 127
• Article Number: F209-F235
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12527
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/889509
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecoj.12527/full
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Maniadis, Z., Tufano, F. and List, J. A. (2017), To Replicate or Not To Replicate? Exploring Reproducibility in Economics through the Lens of a Model and a Pilot Study. Econ J, 127: F209–F235. doi:10.1111/ecoj.12527 which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecoj.12527/full This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
• Contract Date: May 30, 2017