Using a simple OLG model where the research output of one generation provides inputs for the next, the paper explains how quality standards can become established in scientific competition. Researchers seek status, which they get if their results are used by the next generation. Quality is...

The paper presents a linear model of product quality in scientific competition.The only outputs of research are published papers; the onlyinputs are labor and papers by other researchers, which are cited whenused. Researchers compete for status, measured as their rank in a citationscount. If...