ERA Consultation Part II

I previously submitted comments on the ARC's ranked journal list for the 2012 ERA research assessment exercise. You can also submit more general comments on the ERA process. I only submitted one comment, suggesting that economics should be evaluated using citation analysis. Psychology was the only social science evaluated using citations in the 2010 ERA. All natural science, medical, and mathematical fields were evaluated using citation analysis. Citation analysis is widely used in economics, not least by RePEc, and I think the ARC should definitely think again about applying it to economics. One advantage is that it will save a lot of effort on the part of external reviewers who had to provide peer assessment for the 2010 ERA.