Participation profile of the Southern Economic Association annual meetings.

I. Introduction

This paper presents a new ranking for southern universities and colleges based on institutional participation at the annual Southern Economic Association meetings. It provides information that is both meaningful and different from that given by other ranking procedures,

II. The Data

The seven annual Southern Economic Association conferences from 1984 to 1990 provide the data base for the study. Individuals listed on the program are allocated to institutions using the affiliations given in the final conference programs.

Southern universities and colleges are distinguished from other institutions in the rankings. The South is defined as the West South Central, East South Central and South Atlantic divisions of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Thus universities and colleges in the following states are classified as southern: West South Central--Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas; East South Central--Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi; South Atlantic--Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida.

Weights are assigned to individuals based on the form of their participation. The following weighting scheme is used: chair of session = 1; single authored paper = 1; author of two-person paper = 0.5; author of a paper with three or more authors = 0.333; discussant = 0.25. An individual's contribution at any conference can count for more than one; for example, someone who presented a single authored paper and acted as a discussant earns 1.25 points for his institution.(1) The resulting weighted participation rates over the seven annual conferences are converted to annual averages.

I experimented with several alternative weighting schemes. For instance, one alternative procedure assigned a weight of one to each author, irrespective of the number of authors; another counted only paper presentations, not other forms of participation; another weighted every appearance on the program equally. Weight changes resulted in little change in the rankings. For southern schools, the typical correlation coefficient between alternative series is 0.98. Accordingly, I report only the one set of participation rates and ranks.

The conference programs show that the participants come from 734 institutions made up as follows: southern schools, 202; non-southern U.S. schools, 278; foreign schools, 37 from 18 countries; non-academic institutions, 217.

III. The Rankings

Table I gives the rankings and weighted participation averages for all southern schools.(2) Large southern state universities dominate the top of the rankings. Auburn, George Mason, Louisiana State, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Memphis State, Texas A&M, Georgia and South Carolina, in that order, fill the first ten positions. The only private universities in the top twenty five are Southern Methodist (fourteenth) and Vanderbilt (fifteenth).

Table II gives information on participation by the 54 non-southern schools with a weighted average of 1.0 or greater. Penn State, Southern Illinois, Indiana and Illinois State all had participation rates equivalent to the twenty five most active southern schools. The three highest ranking foreign schools were Canadian, in order Toronto (participation average O. 429) and Concordia and British Columbia (average for both 0.286).

Table III gives details of the 17 non-academic institutions with participation rates of 1.0 or above. Six regional Federal Reserve Banks are on the list: in order, the Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cleveland, Richmond and Philadelphia Feds; also represented is the Board of Governors of the Fed. This confirms the substantial research activity of the Federal Reserve System found in |3~.

Do the rankings provide information additional to that obtained from publication studies? Published departmental publication rates are now out of date--for instance the widely used studies by Graves, Marchand and Thompson |2~ and Davis and Papanek |1~ cover the quinquennia 1974 to 1978 and 1979 to 1983 respectively. Accordingly I shall make use of unpublished data covering the 1984 to 1988 quinquennium.(3)

For the southern universities and colleges in Table I, I have the pages published and the corresponding publication rankings. The simple correlation coefficient between the participation average and pages published is 0.594. The Spearman rank correlation between the rankings of the participation and pages series is 0.585. While these correlations are easily significant at the 99 per cent confidence level, the relationship is not particularly close. Only two of the universities ranked in the top ten by SEA conference participation, Louisiana State and Texas A&M, are also in the top ten southern schools ranked by publications. Thus the SEA conference participation data provides net additional information to that provided by publication data.

Table 1. Ranking of Southern Universities and Colleges and
Weighted Participation Averages.
Rank         School                    Average
  1. Auburn University                 14.080
  2. George Mason University           13.200
  3. Louisiana State University        10.550
  4. University of Alabama              9.976
  5. Oklahoma State University          9.202
  6. Florida State University           9.095
  7. Memphis State University           8.238
  8. Texas A&M University               7.786
  9. University of Georgia              7.690
 10. University of South Carolina       7.381
 11. University of Kentucky             6.607
 12. University of Florida              6.571
 13. University of New Orleans          6.250
 14. Southern Methodist University      6.214
 15. Vanderbilt University              6.071
 16. University of Tennessee            5.321
 17. Georgia State University           5.238
 18. University of North Carolina at    4.976
     Chapel Hill
 19. University of South Florida        4.893
 20. University of Central Florida      4.786
 21. Clemson University                 4.726
 22. University of Virginia             4.357
 23. Appalachian State University       4.262
 24. North Carolina State University    4.214
 25. Auburn University at               3.988
     Montgomery
 26. Virginia Polytechnic Institute     3.869
     and State University
 27. University of Maryland             3.810
 28. University of Texas--Arlington     3.774
 29. Wake Forest University             3.750
 30. American University                3.631
 31. Trinity University                 3.571
 32. Duke University                    3.560
 33. James Madison University           3.500
 34. Emory University                   3.393
 35. Old Dominion University            3.357
 36. University of Texas                3.226
 37. George Washington University       3.202
 38. University of Richmond             3.190
 39. North Texas State University       3.170
 40. University of North Florida        3.071
 41. Tulane University                  3.060
 42. University of North Carolina at    2.774
     Greensboro
 43. Georgetown University              2.571
 44. West Kentucky University           2.536
 45. University of Mississippi          2.524
 46. Texas Tech University              2.464
 47. University of Houston              2.392
 48. University of Miami                2.369
 49. University of North Carolina at    2.274
     Charlotte
 50. University of Southern             2.250
     Mississippi
 51. University of Delaware             2.226
 52. University of Oklahoma             2.143
 53. Davidson College                   2.107
 54. Loyola University                  2.071
 55. Baylor University                  2.048
 55. Radford University                 2.048
 57. East Carolina State University     2.024
 58. Florida International University   1.762
 59. University of Texas--              1.726
     San Antonio
 60. Mississippi State University       1.607
 61. University of Arkansas             1.536
 61. University of North Carolina at    1.536
     Wilmington
 61. Winthrop College                   1.536
 64. Southeastern Louisiana             1.488
     University
 65. University of South Alabama        1.464
 66. Kennesaw College                   1.429
 67. Nicholls State University          1.369
 68. Furman University                  1.286
 68. University of Alabama--            1.286
     Birmingham
 70. Pan-American University            1.250
 71. Murray State University            1.214
 72. University of Houston--            1.202
     Clear Lake
 73. East Tennessee State University    1.190
 74. Norfolk State University           1.143
 75. Texas Christian University         1.107
 76. Louisiana Tech University          1.083
 77. East Kentucky University           1.048
 78. Howard University                  1.036
 78. Mary Washington College            1.036
 80. Georgia Southern College           1.000
 80. Rice University                    1.000
 80. University of Arkansas--           1.000
     Little Rock
 83. University of Tennessee--          0.988
     Martin
 84. Temple University                  0.976
 85. Loyola College of Maryland         0.964
 86. University of Texas--El Paso       0.905
 87. Catholic University of America     0.893
 88. Centenary College                  0.821
 88. Johns Hopkins University           0.821
 90. McNeese State University           0.786
 90. University of North Carolina--     0.786
     Asheville
 90. Lander College                     0.786
 93. Rollins College                    0.750
 94. Georgia Institute of Technology    0.690
 95. West Virginia University           0.679
 96. University of Southwestern         0.643
     Louisiana
 96. Christian Brothers College         0.643
 96. Washington and Lee University      0.643
 99. Benedict College                   0.607
100. Florida Atlantic University        0.595
101. Louisiana State University--       0.571
     Shreveport
101. University of Louisville           0.571
103. Central State University           0.536
103. University of North Alabama        0.536
105. College of William and Mary        0.500
105. Millsaps College                   0.500
105. Southwest Texas State              0.500
     University
108. Jacksonville University            0.476
109. College of Charleston              0.464
109. U.S. Naval Academy                 0.464
109. University of Tennessee--          0.464
     Chatanooga
112. Columbus College                   0.429
112. University of Montevallo           0.429
114. Virginia Commonwealth              0.405
     University
115. University of Baltimore            0.393
115. The Citadel                        0.393
117. Goucher College                    0.357
117. Tarleton State University          0.357
117. University of West Florida         0.357
117. University of Alabama--            0.357
     Huntsville
121. Lamar University                   0.321
121. Sam Houston State University       0.321
121. Savannah State College             0.321
124. Middle Tennessee State             0.298
     University
125. Northern Kentucky University       0.286
125. Agnes Scott College                0.286
125. Centre College                     0.286
125. Texas Southern University          0.286
129. Tennessee Tech University          0.261
130. Bellarmine College                 0.250
130. Florida A&M                        0.250
130. Hampden-Sydney College             0.250
130. Meredith College                   0.250
130. Roanoke College                    0.250
130. West Georgia College               0.250
136. Elon College                       0.214
136. Troy State University              0.214
136. University of the South            0.214
136. University of Central Arkansas     0.214
136. University of Maryland--           0.214
     Baltimore County
136. University of Southern             0.214
     Mississippi--Gulfport
142. Marshall University                0.190
143. Northeast Louisiana University     0.179
143. Southern University--              0.179
     New Orleans
143. Hendrix College                    0.179
143. Liberty University                 0.179
143. Western Carolina University        0.179
148. Arkansas State University          0.143
148. St. Mary's College                 0.143
148. University of Arkansas--           0.143
     Monticello
148. Atlanta University                 0.143
148. Eckerd College                     0.143
148. Industrial College of the Armed    0.143
     Forces
148. Mary Baldwin College               0.143
148. Midwestern State University        0.143
148. National Defense University        0.143
148. Prairie View A&M                   0.143
148. Sweet Briar College                0.143
148. Tennessee State University         0.143
148. Tuskegee University                0.143
148. Washington College                 0.143
148. Winston-Salem State University     0.143
163. Morehouse College                  0.107
163. Belmont College                    0.107
165. Valdosta State College             0.083
166. Arkansas College                   0.071
166. Birmingham-Southern College        0.071
166. Bridgewater College                0.071
166. East Texas University              0.071
166. Francis Marion College             0.071
166. Georgia College                    0.071
166. Hollins College                    0.071
166. Lynchburg College                  0.071
166. Spring Hill College                0.071
166. Emory and Henry College            0.071
166. Southern University                0.071
166. University of Dallas               0.071
178. University of Tampa                0.048
179. Berry College                      0.036
179. University of South Carolina--     0.036
     Aiken
179. University of South Carolina--     0.036
     Spartanburg
179. University of Texas--Tyler         0.036
179. Alabama A&M University             0.036
179. Chattanooga State Technical        0.036
     Comm. College
179. Columbia State Comm. College       0.036
179. Corpus Christi State University    0.036
179. Hampton University                 0.036
179. LBJ School of Public Affairs       0.036
179. Mercer University                  0.036
179. Pembroke State University          0.036
179. Piedmont University                0.036
179. Rhodes College                     0.036
179. Salisbury State University         0.036
179. Savannah State University          0.036
179. Shepard College                    0.036
179. Tougaloo College                   0.036
179. Towson State University            0.036
179. Transylvania University            0.036
179. University of Alabama--            0.036
     Montgomery
179. University of the D.C.             0.036
179. University of South Carolina--     0.036
     Sumter
Table II. Ranking of Non-Southern Universities and Colleges and
Weighted Participation Averages (Schools with averages of one
or more)
Rank         School                    Average
  1. Pennsylvania State University      6.762
  2. Southern Illinois University       4.429
  3. Indiana University                 4.083
  4. Illinois State University          4.024
  5. Rutgets University                 3.440
  6. Miami University--Ohio             3.333
  7. Ohio State University              3.262
  8. Arizona State University           3.238
  9. University of Missouri--           2.524
     Columbia
 10. Michigan State University          2.405
 11. University of Notre Dame           2.226
 12. University of Wyoming              2.155
 13. University of Cincinnati           1.988
 14. Ball State University              1.869
 15. St. Cloud University               1.810
 16. Purdue University                  1.750
 17. Washington University              1.726
 18. State University of New York--     1.702
     Buffalo
 19. Northern Illinois University       1.690
 20. University of Illinois             1.595
 21. University of Missouri--Rolla      1.571
 22. State University of New York--     1.524
     Binghampton
 23. Bowling Green State University     1.512
 24. Rochester Institute of             1.464
     Technology
 24. University of Oregon               1.464
 26. University of Arizona              1.440
 27. Central Michigan University        1.429
 27. Montana State University           1.429
 29. University of Missouri--           1.405
     St. Louis
 30. University of Nevada Las Vegas     1.393
 31. Lehigh University                  1.357
 31. Weber State College                1.357
 31. Western Illinois University        1.357
 34. Wayne State University             1.333
 35. University of Akron                1.321
 36. California Institute of            1.286
     Technology
 36. University of Colorado             1.286
 38. University of Colorado--Denver     1.262
 39. California State University        1.214
 39. University of Toledo               1.214
 41. Cornell University                 1.179
 41. University of Southern             1.179
     California
 43. University of Wisconsin--          1.155
     LaCrosse
 44. Southern Illinois University--     1.119
     Edwardsville
 44. University of Michigan             1.119
 46. Duquesne University                1.107
 46. University of Nebraska--Omaha      1.107
 48. University of New Hampshire        1.083
 49. Purdue University--Indianapolis    1.071
 49. University of California--         1.071
     Los Angeles
 49. Wright State University            1.071
 52. New York University                1.036
 53. University of Pennsylvania         1.024
 54. John Carroll University            1.012
Table III. Ranking of Non-Academic Institutions and Weighted
Participation Averages (Institutions with averages of one or
more)
Rank           Institution             Average
  1. Federal Trade Commission           5.484
  2. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas     2.964
  3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics    2.179
  4. U.S. Dept. of Justice              2.140
  5. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta    1.964
  6. American Enterprise Institute      1.929
  7. Federal Reserve Bank of St.        1.761
     Louis
  8. Federal Reserve Bank of            1.429
     Philadelphia
  9. Resources for the Future           1.356
 10. Federal Reserve Bank of            1.320
     Cleveland
 10. Federal Reserve Board              1.320
 12. U.S. Dept. of Education            1.286
 13. Federal Reserve Bank of            1.214
     Richmond
 13. U.S. International Trade           1.214
     Commission
 15. Council of Economic Advisors       1.047
 16. International Monetary Fund        1.036
 16. U.S. General Accounting Office     1.036

1. No attempt was made to check whether or not a person listed on a program actually attended the conference and performed the stated functions. Non-attendance is likely to be common with co-authored papers and may account for a substantial portion of the credit earned by some non-southern institutions.

2. In all the tables, when two or more institutions have the same participation average, the institutions are listed alphabetically.

3. These data were provided to me by Loren C. Scott of Louisiana State University. They will be reported in a forthcoming paper. The methodology used, similar to that in Davis and Papanek |1~ and Graves, Marchand, and Thompson |2~, is based on publications in 24 journals.

References

1. Davis, Paul and Gustav F Papanek, "Faculty Ratings of Major Economics Departments by Citations." American Economic Review, March 1984, 225-30.

2. Graves, Philip E., James R. Marchand, and Randall Thompson. "Economics Department Rankings: Research Incentives, Constraints and Efficiency." American Economic Review, December 1982, 1131-41.

3. Jansen, Dennis W., "Ranking Federal Reserve System Research Department by Publications in Professional Journals." Journal of Macroeconomics, Fall 1991, 733-42.