Paolo Crosetto
@paolocrosetto.bsky.social
Experimental & Behavioural economist INRAE Grenoble • President of the French Association of Experimental Economists • Scientific publishing measurement & reform • Experiments on food labeling - risk - choices • Rstats • Italian Food Police honorary member
Profits plot is my own representation of the data we present in table form in this paper arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Data from the table in supplementary material, also here
Data from the table in supplementary material, also here
November 18, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Profits plot is my own representation of the data we present in table form in this paper arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Data from the table in supplementary material, also here
Data from the table in supplementary material, also here
Pension-salary growth gap in Europe. source Pablo Garcia Guzman pablogguz.github.io
Pensions have grown much more than salaries in most countries. And there are more and more pensioner per active worker. And they vote.
You get the picture of what an insolvable f***ing mess we're in.
Pensions have grown much more than salaries in most countries. And there are more and more pensioner per active worker. And they vote.
You get the picture of what an insolvable f***ing mess we're in.
November 17, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Pension-salary growth gap in Europe. source Pablo Garcia Guzman pablogguz.github.io
Pensions have grown much more than salaries in most countries. And there are more and more pensioner per active worker. And they vote.
You get the picture of what an insolvable f***ing mess we're in.
Pensions have grown much more than salaries in most countries. And there are more and more pensioner per active worker. And they vote.
You get the picture of what an insolvable f***ing mess we're in.
I am giving a course on Behavioral and Experimental approaches to public policy of food consumption in Milan this week.
We will talk methods, experiments, colors, numbers, perception, labels, taxes, nutriscore, and more.
This is an open hybrid event, over MS Teams. Reach out to get the link.
We will talk methods, experiments, colors, numbers, perception, labels, taxes, nutriscore, and more.
This is an open hybrid event, over MS Teams. Reach out to get the link.
November 17, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I am giving a course on Behavioral and Experimental approaches to public policy of food consumption in Milan this week.
We will talk methods, experiments, colors, numbers, perception, labels, taxes, nutriscore, and more.
This is an open hybrid event, over MS Teams. Reach out to get the link.
We will talk methods, experiments, colors, numbers, perception, labels, taxes, nutriscore, and more.
This is an open hybrid event, over MS Teams. Reach out to get the link.
Gentle request that @altmetric.com and @linkedin.com resume contact to be able to track academic LinkedIn activity on AltMetric.
More and more scientific discourse is happening on BlueSky (tracked) and LinkedIn (not tracked).
@linkedin.com let AltMetric use your API and include you! NOW!
More and more scientific discourse is happening on BlueSky (tracked) and LinkedIn (not tracked).
@linkedin.com let AltMetric use your API and include you! NOW!
November 14, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Gentle request that @altmetric.com and @linkedin.com resume contact to be able to track academic LinkedIn activity on AltMetric.
More and more scientific discourse is happening on BlueSky (tracked) and LinkedIn (not tracked).
@linkedin.com let AltMetric use your API and include you! NOW!
More and more scientific discourse is happening on BlueSky (tracked) and LinkedIn (not tracked).
@linkedin.com let AltMetric use your API and include you! NOW!
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
November 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
This wasn't always the case, even at MDPI; they worked (successfully) at industrializing publishing, removing most of editorial heterogeneity (& independence, I'd say) in the process. This started in ~2019, see for evidence here: paolocrosetto.wordpress.com/2021/04/12/i...
November 11, 2025 at 2:47 PM
This wasn't always the case, even at MDPI; they worked (successfully) at industrializing publishing, removing most of editorial heterogeneity (& independence, I'd say) in the process. This started in ~2019, see for evidence here: paolocrosetto.wordpress.com/2021/04/12/i...
MDPI has low rejection rates with respect to the competitors, but rejections (at least in their data) exist. We have some metrics in the Strain paper, here: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
[caveat: rej rates are tricky, mostly secret, easily gameable, and we have to take the publisher's word for it anyway]
[caveat: rej rates are tricky, mostly secret, easily gameable, and we have to take the publisher's word for it anyway]
November 11, 2025 at 2:38 PM
MDPI has low rejection rates with respect to the competitors, but rejections (at least in their data) exist. We have some metrics in the Strain paper, here: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
[caveat: rej rates are tricky, mostly secret, easily gameable, and we have to take the publisher's word for it anyway]
[caveat: rej rates are tricky, mostly secret, easily gameable, and we have to take the publisher's word for it anyway]
Last 10 days to submit to the Winter Workshop in Behavioral and Experimental Economics of Food Consumption.
Working on experiments & food? Submit!
Laser-focused yet cozy workshop, deep in the Alps, lots of time to present & discuss, no participation fees.
Info sites.google.com/view/winterw...
Working on experiments & food? Submit!
Laser-focused yet cozy workshop, deep in the Alps, lots of time to present & discuss, no participation fees.
Info sites.google.com/view/winterw...
November 3, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Last 10 days to submit to the Winter Workshop in Behavioral and Experimental Economics of Food Consumption.
Working on experiments & food? Submit!
Laser-focused yet cozy workshop, deep in the Alps, lots of time to present & discuss, no participation fees.
Info sites.google.com/view/winterw...
Working on experiments & food? Submit!
Laser-focused yet cozy workshop, deep in the Alps, lots of time to present & discuss, no participation fees.
Info sites.google.com/view/winterw...
timeo danaos et dona ferentes
October 2, 2025 at 1:38 PM
timeo danaos et dona ferentes
In the Alps we have Chartreuse, Dahu, snow, and the Fourth Winter Workshop in Behavioral and Experimental Economics!
sites.google.com/view/winterw...
Keynotes by Jutta Roosen (Munich) & Liam Delaney (LSE), a cozy relaxed atmosphere -- Jan 28th-30th, 2026, Villard de Lans [by Grenoble].
Join us!
sites.google.com/view/winterw...
Keynotes by Jutta Roosen (Munich) & Liam Delaney (LSE), a cozy relaxed atmosphere -- Jan 28th-30th, 2026, Villard de Lans [by Grenoble].
Join us!
September 23, 2025 at 6:22 AM
In the Alps we have Chartreuse, Dahu, snow, and the Fourth Winter Workshop in Behavioral and Experimental Economics!
sites.google.com/view/winterw...
Keynotes by Jutta Roosen (Munich) & Liam Delaney (LSE), a cozy relaxed atmosphere -- Jan 28th-30th, 2026, Villard de Lans [by Grenoble].
Join us!
sites.google.com/view/winterw...
Keynotes by Jutta Roosen (Munich) & Liam Delaney (LSE), a cozy relaxed atmosphere -- Jan 28th-30th, 2026, Villard de Lans [by Grenoble].
Join us!
Sometimes you have to ease up. For me, this means exploiting the (still) long days and the fresh weather to head to the mountains.
In Grenoble, this is what 30min by car and 1h on foot gets you -- sunset over the Western Alps.
It's a real privilege to live in such a beautiful place.
In Grenoble, this is what 30min by car and 1h on foot gets you -- sunset over the Western Alps.
It's a real privilege to live in such a beautiful place.
September 4, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Sometimes you have to ease up. For me, this means exploiting the (still) long days and the fresh weather to head to the mountains.
In Grenoble, this is what 30min by car and 1h on foot gets you -- sunset over the Western Alps.
It's a real privilege to live in such a beautiful place.
In Grenoble, this is what 30min by car and 1h on foot gets you -- sunset over the Western Alps.
It's a real privilege to live in such a beautiful place.
Springer creates a "Discover XY" series of new journals, that copy verbatim identically titled "MDPI XY" journals, with the same business model and hiring staff from MDPI to handle all the requests, and these journals grow at triple digit rates upon release? Fell for it, *again*.
July 15, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Springer creates a "Discover XY" series of new journals, that copy verbatim identically titled "MDPI XY" journals, with the same business model and hiring staff from MDPI to handle all the requests, and these journals grow at triple digit rates upon release? Fell for it, *again*.
Brilliant article in the Guardian on the (dismal) state of scientific publishing. Great take by @hansonmark.bsky.social -- it's up to funders to fundamentally alter the rules of the game by stopping this mad and costly paper escalation.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
July 15, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Brilliant article in the Guardian on the (dismal) state of scientific publishing. Great take by @hansonmark.bsky.social -- it's up to funders to fundamentally alter the rules of the game by stopping this mad and costly paper escalation.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
@andreamatranga.bsky.social I think you'll love this minimalistic strategy war game: warofdots.net
Actively developed, a YouTube channel with lots of videos, and a release date in a month or so.
Actively developed, a YouTube channel with lots of videos, and a release date in a month or so.
June 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
@andreamatranga.bsky.social I think you'll love this minimalistic strategy war game: warofdots.net
Actively developed, a YouTube channel with lots of videos, and a release date in a month or so.
Actively developed, a YouTube channel with lots of videos, and a release date in a month or so.
This is not from today. Today we just chilled in the garden and saw some nice toons and splashed around and read a lot together on the couch. And ice cream. And stories. And hugs.
But one is a father everyday, not just on father's day.
Thanks kids for the privilege of being there for you!
But one is a father everyday, not just on father's day.
Thanks kids for the privilege of being there for you!
June 15, 2025 at 7:36 PM
This is not from today. Today we just chilled in the garden and saw some nice toons and splashed around and read a lot together on the couch. And ice cream. And stories. And hugs.
But one is a father everyday, not just on father's day.
Thanks kids for the privilege of being there for you!
But one is a father everyday, not just on father's day.
Thanks kids for the privilege of being there for you!
Fourth: play our funny guessing game #DiscoverOrMDPI.
Can you outguess marketing operatives from publishers by telling apart MDPI from Discover journals?
We wrote the game and the blog, and cannot win.
pagoba.shinyapps.io/publi_guess/
Can you outguess marketing operatives from publishers by telling apart MDPI from Discover journals?
We wrote the game and the blog, and cannot win.
pagoba.shinyapps.io/publi_guess/
June 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Fourth: play our funny guessing game #DiscoverOrMDPI.
Can you outguess marketing operatives from publishers by telling apart MDPI from Discover journals?
We wrote the game and the blog, and cannot win.
pagoba.shinyapps.io/publi_guess/
Can you outguess marketing operatives from publishers by telling apart MDPI from Discover journals?
We wrote the game and the blog, and cannot win.
pagoba.shinyapps.io/publi_guess/
Researchers will flock to the newly-established, cheaper, same-name copycat journals with slightly better quality, because Springer-Nature is behind them and lends credibility.
We will fall for the same trick. Again.
Are really publishers to blame for baiting us?
We fall.
Every.
Time.
We will fall for the same trick. Again.
Are really publishers to blame for baiting us?
We fall.
Every.
Time.
June 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Researchers will flock to the newly-established, cheaper, same-name copycat journals with slightly better quality, because Springer-Nature is behind them and lends credibility.
We will fall for the same trick. Again.
Are really publishers to blame for baiting us?
We fall.
Every.
Time.
We will fall for the same trick. Again.
Are really publishers to blame for baiting us?
We fall.
Every.
Time.
In one respect they kept their old good guys™️ ways: they spend some time reviewing your paper, mostly in line with other traditional and not-for-profit publishers.
I guess we have to hand it to them, submission to publication including revisions at a mean of 37 days, only MDPI can pull it off.
I guess we have to hand it to them, submission to publication including revisions at a mean of 37 days, only MDPI can pull it off.
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
In one respect they kept their old good guys™️ ways: they spend some time reviewing your paper, mostly in line with other traditional and not-for-profit publishers.
I guess we have to hand it to them, submission to publication including revisions at a mean of 37 days, only MDPI can pull it off.
I guess we have to hand it to them, submission to publication including revisions at a mean of 37 days, only MDPI can pull it off.
They also learned to manage citations in such a way to sport high impact factor -- something that can be easily shown with some bibliometric magic and that at the Strain Team we dubbed "Impact Factor Inflation" in our Strain paper.
They're so good, they beat MDPI.
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
They're so good, they beat MDPI.
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
They also learned to manage citations in such a way to sport high impact factor -- something that can be easily shown with some bibliometric magic and that at the Strain Team we dubbed "Impact Factor Inflation" in our Strain paper.
They're so good, they beat MDPI.
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
They're so good, they beat MDPI.
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
To be on the safe side in case carbon-copying journal titles & halving prices weren't enough, at Springer-Nature they took another trick from MDPI: flood the zone with Special Issues.
And, as always, it works: 66 journals, 1255 open Special Issues. Applied Sciences? 160. Sustainability? 113.
And, as always, it works: 66 journals, 1255 open Special Issues. Applied Sciences? 160. Sustainability? 113.
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
To be on the safe side in case carbon-copying journal titles & halving prices weren't enough, at Springer-Nature they took another trick from MDPI: flood the zone with Special Issues.
And, as always, it works: 66 journals, 1255 open Special Issues. Applied Sciences? 160. Sustainability? 113.
And, as always, it works: 66 journals, 1255 open Special Issues. Applied Sciences? 160. Sustainability? 113.
Discover journals are developing wildly. Out of 66 journals, 36 had not published a single paper before 2024.
Collectively, they grew 324% in numbers of papers published last year alone.
Springer-Nature brings its reputation to bear, at a lower APC than the competitor: for authors, it's a steal.
Collectively, they grew 324% in numbers of papers published last year alone.
Springer-Nature brings its reputation to bear, at a lower APC than the competitor: for authors, it's a steal.
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Discover journals are developing wildly. Out of 66 journals, 36 had not published a single paper before 2024.
Collectively, they grew 324% in numbers of papers published last year alone.
Springer-Nature brings its reputation to bear, at a lower APC than the competitor: for authors, it's a steal.
Collectively, they grew 324% in numbers of papers published last year alone.
Springer-Nature brings its reputation to bear, at a lower APC than the competitor: for authors, it's a steal.
Out of 66 Springer-Nature "Discover" Journals, 25 have *identical* identical* names to existing MDPI journals (Viruses - Viruses); 11 differ by one letter (Food – Foods) and 22 more are pretty similar (Computing – Computers).
That’s 58 copycat journal titles out of 66 for you.
That’s 58 copycat journal titles out of 66 for you.
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Out of 66 Springer-Nature "Discover" Journals, 25 have *identical* identical* names to existing MDPI journals (Viruses - Viruses); 11 differ by one letter (Food – Foods) and 22 more are pretty similar (Computing – Computers).
That’s 58 copycat journal titles out of 66 for you.
That’s 58 copycat journal titles out of 66 for you.
Scientific publishing is a cash cow.
A publisher developing a new way to milk it dry, it's just a Tuesday.
Still I didn't expect the self-appointed good guys™️ at Springer-Nature to *literally copy* tricks & journals form the much-berated MDPI.
See for yourself -- "Applied Sciences" journals:
A publisher developing a new way to milk it dry, it's just a Tuesday.
Still I didn't expect the self-appointed good guys™️ at Springer-Nature to *literally copy* tricks & journals form the much-berated MDPI.
See for yourself -- "Applied Sciences" journals:
June 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Scientific publishing is a cash cow.
A publisher developing a new way to milk it dry, it's just a Tuesday.
Still I didn't expect the self-appointed good guys™️ at Springer-Nature to *literally copy* tricks & journals form the much-berated MDPI.
See for yourself -- "Applied Sciences" journals:
A publisher developing a new way to milk it dry, it's just a Tuesday.
Still I didn't expect the self-appointed good guys™️ at Springer-Nature to *literally copy* tricks & journals form the much-berated MDPI.
See for yourself -- "Applied Sciences" journals:
A *null* result I'm very proud of!
Led by Rustam Romaniuc, 35 coauthors from all over France tested nudge interventions to boost voter turnout.
None worked, and we are possibly not surprised -- but a well-powered null result *is* a result!
Paper:
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
Led by Rustam Romaniuc, 35 coauthors from all over France tested nudge interventions to boost voter turnout.
None worked, and we are possibly not surprised -- but a well-powered null result *is* a result!
Paper:
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
June 15, 2025 at 10:21 AM
A *null* result I'm very proud of!
Led by Rustam Romaniuc, 35 coauthors from all over France tested nudge interventions to boost voter turnout.
None worked, and we are possibly not surprised -- but a well-powered null result *is* a result!
Paper:
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
Led by Rustam Romaniuc, 35 coauthors from all over France tested nudge interventions to boost voter turnout.
None worked, and we are possibly not surprised -- but a well-powered null result *is* a result!
Paper:
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
Agreed: demand is insatiable, publishers will deliver.
On Italian summer beaches there's high demand for Cornetto. So different firms produce copycat cornettos, underpricing & lowering quality till it's just cold sawdust.
In this piece we just show a particularly gross case of cornettoing.
On Italian summer beaches there's high demand for Cornetto. So different firms produce copycat cornettos, underpricing & lowering quality till it's just cold sawdust.
In this piece we just show a particularly gross case of cornettoing.
June 10, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Agreed: demand is insatiable, publishers will deliver.
On Italian summer beaches there's high demand for Cornetto. So different firms produce copycat cornettos, underpricing & lowering quality till it's just cold sawdust.
In this piece we just show a particularly gross case of cornettoing.
On Italian summer beaches there's high demand for Cornetto. So different firms produce copycat cornettos, underpricing & lowering quality till it's just cold sawdust.
In this piece we just show a particularly gross case of cornettoing.