Density inference for ranking European research systems in the field of economics

The econometrics of inequality measurement is adapted in order to investigate the publishing habits of the economists of seven European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK. California is added for comparison. Data come from the CD-ROM of the Journal of Economic Literature. A Bayesian model selection procedure helps to select a Weibull distribution as an admissible reduction of the generalised Beta-II. Analytical upper partial moment curves and modified generalised Lorenz curves are derived for the Weibull model and serve to detect a group of three dominant european countries: The Netherlands, the UK and Belgium.