改革开放以来国内经济学研究范式的演进与趋向——以高频被引文献中的“睡美人”“昙花一现”现象为例

The Evolution and Trend of Chinese Economics Research Paradigms since the Reform and Opening up: The Case of “Sleeping Beauty” and “Flash in the Pan” in the Highly-cited Literature

文章以1978-2017年“中国知网”数据库收录的400篇高频被引文献为样本,重点挖掘其中的“睡美人”“昙花一现”两类特殊的引文现象,以此说明改革开放以来国内经济学研究范式的演进历程与未来趋向。结果表明:(1)国内经济学研究具有鲜明的多层化结构,“睡美人”和“昙花一现”两者分别对应着多层化结构中的边缘和主流研究,生动展现了改革开放四十余年来经济学主流研究范式深刻而迅速的转型。(2)从转型特征来看,国内经济学的研究重心与现实经济改革的焦点始终高度契合,但对时空跨度选取趋于明晰化,研究方法趋于定量化和数学化。上述新特征均在“睡美人”文献中率先出现,表明国内经济学研究范式的演进历程不是对国际学界的盲目照搬和追随,而是具有显著的自觉性与连续性。(3)从转型动因来看,由研究主体和阵地组成的学术共同体在这一历程中扮演了至关重要的角色。在研究主体方面,高频被引文献的作者趋向于年轻化、规模化和背景交叉化;在研究阵地方面,高校、科研机构和学术期刊的极化现象均有所减弱。上述趋向显著推动了经济学研究范式的新旧更迭,为原创性理论和成果的出现铺就了道路。

The development of economics can be described as the formation, innovation and transformation of paradigms. Since the reform and opening up, a series of important achievements have emerged in Chinese economics research, which provides the basis and necessity for creating new theories, guiding new practices and leading new paradigms. However, few studies have examined the evolution of Chinese economic research paradigms from the perspective of the overall discipline, and there is a lack of in-depth investigation into its intrinsic motivations.This paper takes 400 highly-cited papers from the CNKI database from 1978 to 2017 as the sample, and focuses on the two special citation phenomena of “Sleeping Beauty” and “Flash in the Pan” to analyze the evolution and trend of Chinese economics research paradigms. The results show that:Chinese economics research has a distinct multi-layered structure, with “Sleeping Beauty” and “Flash in the Pan” corresponding to the marginal and mainstream research in it, vividly demonstrating the profound and rapid transformation of paradigms since the reform and opening up. In terms of transformation features, the research focus has always been consistent with the focus of real economic reform, but the selection of time and space span tends to be clear, and research methods tend to be quantitative and mathematical. These new features appeared in the“Sleeping Beauty” originally, which indicates that the transformation is not a copy or follower of the international academic community, but a highly conscious and continuous process. In terms of transformation motivations, the academic community, composed of researchers, universities and academic journals, has played a vital role in this process. On the one hand, the authors tend to be younger, more collaborative and cross-sectional in background. On the other hand, the polarization of universities and academic journals has diminished.The above trends significantly promote the transformation of economics research paradigms and pave the way for the emergence of original theories and achievements.This paper has the following academic value: First, in terms of research objects, it expands the scope from a certain branch of economics to the whole, which systematically presents the overall picture of the paradigm transformation of the discipline, and has great practical significance for the development of economics with Chinese characteristics. Second, in terms of research methods, the comprehensive application of bibliometrics and history of economic thought helps to fully understand the multi-layered structure of academic history, revisit the valuable academic resources which were marginalized in the past, and promote the construction of new theories, ideas and even fields. Third, in terms of research conclusions, it reveals that the economics research paradigm is historical, which is mainly an adaptation to the social needs and existing technologies at that time.