Effect or Fable ?

In a market context, a status effect occurs when actors are accorded differential recognition for their efforts depending on their location in a status ordering, holding constant the quality of these efforts. In practice, because it is very difficult to measure quality, this ceteris paribus proviso often precludes convincing empirical assessments of the magnitude of status effects. We address this problem by examining the impact of a major status-conferring prize that shifts actors’ positions in a prestige ordering. Specifically, using a precisely constructed matched sample, we estimate the effect of a scientist becoming a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator (HHMI) on citations to articles the scientist published before the prize was awarded. We do find evidence of a post-appointment citation boost, but the effect is small and limited to a short window of time. Consistent with theories of status, however, the effect of the prize is significantly larger when there is uncertainty about article quality, and when prize-winners are of (relatively) low status at the time of election to HHMI. Pierre Azoulay MIT Sloan School of Management 100 Main Street, E62-482 Cambridge, MA 02142 and NBER pazoulay@mit.edu Toby Stuart University of California – Berkeley Haas School of Business 2220 Piedmont Avenue Berkeley, CA 94720 tstuart@haas.berkeley.edu Yanbo Wang Boston University School of Management 595 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 wyanbo@bu.edu