Conventional wisdom, meta‐analysis, and research revision in economics

Abstract Over the past several decades, meta‐analysis has emerged as a widely accepted tool to understand economics research. Meta‐analyses often challenge the established conventional wisdom of their respective fields. We systematically review a wide range of influential meta‐analyses in economics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of economic surveys
Main Authors Gechert, Sebastian, Mey, Bianka, Opatrny, Matej, Havranek, Tomas, Stanley, T. D., Bom, Pedro R. D., Doucouliagos, Hristos, Heimberger, Philipp, Irsova, Zuzana, Rachinger, Heiko J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 20.05.2024
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Summary:Abstract Over the past several decades, meta‐analysis has emerged as a widely accepted tool to understand economics research. Meta‐analyses often challenge the established conventional wisdom of their respective fields. We systematically review a wide range of influential meta‐analyses in economics and compare them to “conventional wisdom.” After correcting for observable biases, the empirical economic effects are typically much closer to zero and sometimes switch signs. Typically, the relative reduction in effect sizes is 45%–60%.
ISSN:0950-0804
1467-6419
DOI:10.1111/joes.12630