Prizes and Productivity
研究菲尔兹奖得主获奖后生产力下降，发现他们转向探索新领域而减少论文产出，对理解科研激励有启示。
Knowledge generation is key to economic growth, and scientific prizes are designed to encourage it. But how does winning a prestigious prize affect future output? We compare the productivity of Fields Medal recipients (winners of the top mathematics prize) to that of similarly brilliant contenders. The two groups have similar publication rates until the award year, after which the winners’ productivity declines. The medalists begin to “play the field,” studying unfamiliar topics at the expense of writing papers. It appears that tournaments can have large postprize effects on the effort allocation of knowledge producers.