Scientific Communities and Spatial Concentration in Economic Science

The idea that comparative success of certain territorial centers of economic research is linked to the quality of institutions is currently widely recognized in the literature. The problem is however to identify the relevant level of institutions. The paper claims that the key role is played not by formal and informal norms of the 'society in general', but by specific institutions ofn scientific community, often significantly different from general norms in terms of incentives structure. The author also analyzes the labor market for economists as a factor of competition among scientific communities. Reprinted by permission of "Voprosy Ekonomiki"