How economists cite literature: citation analysis of two core Pakistani economic journals

Selected volumes of the Pakistan Development Review (PDR) and the Pakistan Economic and Social Review (PESR) were analysed to find the citation pattern of their articles. Eight volumes of each journal were selected, two volumes representing a decade. The results revealed that the PDR has been the most cited journal. The mean score of citations per article remained insignificantly different in the two core journals. More than 50 per cent of the citations from both journals were single‐authored. More than 50 per cent of the citations were from non‐journal sources, mainly books. Although citations from online sources were seen, it was a negligible number. About 47 per cent of the total citations of the PDR were up to five years old compared with the citations of the PESR, where only 25 per cent fell into this category. Most of the authors used foreign books as citations. There is a significant similarity in the top most cited journals in both cases. Most of the frequently cited journals were from the USA.