What type of economist are you: r ‐strategist or K ‐strategist?

This paper proposes a simple model to classify economists according to their preferences towards quality and/or quantity of their publications. When more emphasis is placed on quantity they are defined as r ‐strategists. When they put more effort in the quality of their papers targeting top journals, they are defined as K ‐strategists. It is shown that prestigious departments tend to select K ‐strategists. By analyzing which strategy maximizes the influence of an economist in the profession, the paper shows that neither r ‐, nor K ‐strategists are the winners. The paper conjectures that the economists more likely to be successful in the profession follow the Samuelson‐strategy, which is characterized by a balance between quality and quantity.