Competition for publication-based rewards

This paper studies how more competition among researchers for publication-based rewards affects the quality of the publication process. Publishable results can be generated via costly informative sequential private experimentation or costly uninformative manipulation. By reducing expected rewards, competition may discourage manipulation in favor of experimentation, but not vice versa. It also reduces excessive experimentation. Both effects improve the quality of the publication process. • Competition affects incentives to engage in different forms of scientific misconduct. • More competition discourages uninformative manipulation in favor of experimentation. • More competition reduces excessive private experimentation. • Competitive pressure can improve the quality of the publication process.