Working paper production linked to number of PhD economists
Central banks averaged output of roughly 10 working papers last year
Central banks’ volume of economics working papers is associated with the number of PhD degree holders serving in the economics department, data from the Economics Benchmarks 2026 shows.
The proportion of PhD holders as share of the economics team averages 22.1% across 31 respondents. The figure is consistent with the 22.8% in the 2024 benchmark.
This year’s sample has five economics departments without a PhD degree holder. An upper-middle income respondent from Europe reported the largest (100%)
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