Ceremonial science: The state of Russian economics seen through the lens of the work of 'Doctor of Science' candidates

- We perform an empirical analysis of a dataset of extended abstracts of 552 Russian Doctor of Science theses.
- The scientific work of Russian 'Doctor of Science' candidates is marked by a 'ceremonial' way of quoting scientific authorities and using simple mathematics and quantitative criteria.
- Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes and Karl Marx are the most quoted authors; there are almost no references to authors from the REPEC list.
- Russian Dr. Sc. theses are more theoretically oriented than Russian journal articles, but the vast majority deals with applied economics; modern economic theory and econometrics are practically absent.

The paper investigates the current status of economic research in Russia using a previously unexplored dataset of Russian 'Doctor of Science' (Dr.Sc.) theses. The Dr.Sc. degree is a postdoctoral qualification necessary for career advancement at most Russian universities. By examining the Dr.Sc. theses, we are able to provide a systematic overview of 'average' scientific standards in Russia, particularly at mass universities, at which most administrators and bureaucrats are trained. We show that the level of integration into the international scientific community in Russian economics remains low. Moreover, we obtain a picture of mostly 'ceremonial' science. The researchers combine references to 'classical' research, formal methods, and practical application merely as an instrument for presenting the argument in a more 'scientific' way.