Rob Williams updates Kolstad on the RESECON listserv about the RePEc rankings of environmental economics institutions:
I don't want to nitpick, but REPEC doesn't actually rank universities: it ranks "institutions," which in a university context usually correspond to departments. The top ten academic institutions from that ranking are:
#1 -- MIT, Economics
#2 -- University of Zurich, Economics
#3 -- Harvard, Economics
#4 -- Free University, Amsterdam, Economics and Business Administration
#5 -- Harvard, Kennedy School of Government
#6 -- UC Santa Barbara, Economics
#7 -- University of Maryland, Economics
#8 -- University of Maryland, Agricultural and Resource Economics
#9 -- Columbia University, Economics
#10 -- Erasmus Univeristy, Economics
The list Charlie posted effectively ranks a university based only on its highest-ranked department. That's simple, but somewhat inaccurate: all else equal, a university with multiple top departments ought to rank higher than a university with only one top department. And based on the REPEC methodology, if a university were to merge two departments, the merged department would almost certainly rank higher than either department on its own.
Unfortunately, REPEC doesn't provide the necessary information to calculate such a university-level ranking. But a quick look at the top nine suggests that Harvard and Maryland would both very likely move up in the rankings, given that each of those two universities has two top-ten departments (Harvard with #3 and #5, and Maryland with #7 and #8).
I replied to RESECON with this:
Another problem with the RePEc rankings is that individuals in the department need to register before their work is counted. I imagine that may be why Appalachian State University is ranked ahead of the University of Wyoming.
Would you rather get your PhD at Wyoming or Appstate? Er, Appstate doesn't have a graduate program! But, still, Appstate is ranked in the top 5% of the world's top institutions in environmental economics (in the world).
Which begs the question: Why am I allowed to brag about my department's standing in the RePEc rankings and Mankiw is not? My answer: it is based on perceptions and expectations. Everyone knows that Mankiw and Harvard are at the top of the economics profession, so, shhhhhhhh about it. Appstate? Jeez, give me a break and let me point something good out! geez.
