Abstract We propose a model in which researchers maximize the number of times they are cited in later papers. The equilibrium is inefficient, because researchers distort their effort toward writing on popular topics. This inefficiency is affected by various factors, policies and customs. We explored the effect of a variety of such factors. In particular, we argue that the inefficiency is likely to be higher in disciplines (areas of research) in which talent is uniform across topics rather than more topic specific. We also determine conditions under which assigning a higher weight to citations in papers published in higher-ranked journals enhances efficiency.

中文翻译：

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引用理论

摘要 我们提出了一个模型，在该模型中，研究人员最大限度地提高他们在以后论文中被引用的次数。这种平衡是低效的，因为研究人员歪曲了他们对热门话题写作的努力。这种低效率受到各种因素、政策和习俗的影响。我们探讨了各种此类因素的影响。特别是，我们认为，在人才在各个主题上是统一的而不是更具体的学科（研究领域）中，效率低下可能更高。我们还确定了在哪些条件下为在排名较高的期刊上发表的论文中的引用分配更高的权重可以提高效率。