To replicate or not to replicate? Exploring reproducibility in economics through the lens of a model and a pilot study

The sciences are in an era of an alleged ‘credibility crisis.’ In this study, we discuss the reproducibility of received empirical results, focusing on economics research. By combining theory and empirical evidence, we discuss the import of replication studies, and whether they improve our confidence in novel findings. The theory sheds light on the importance of replications, even when replications themselves are subject to research biases. We then report data from a pilot meta-study of replication in the subfield of experimental economics, which serves as a positive benchmark for investigating the credibility of economics. Our meta-study highlights certain difficulties when applying meta-research and systematizing the economics literature