Eastern Economic Journal 28, Winter 2002 by Deirdre McCloskey. (For an interesting parallel, see Lynn Conway, who is one of famous names in VLSI (very large systems integration, on a chip) with collaborator Carver Mead (of Caltech). McCloskey is a distinguished economic historian, Chicago School, and has recently done a series of books on the rise of bourgeois values and economic development.
I will quote her main point, leaving out her italics:
"The only correct procedure for assessing scholarship in hiring or promotion is for the responsible body to read the candidate's work and discuss its intellectual quality with immediate colleagues in a context of believably disinterested assessments from the outside."
I would add that it might be useful to have a designated devil's advocate (much as there is a designated driver).
------------------------------------
My new book does not take this point of view, but had I read McCloskey when I was putting it together, I would have featured her argument.
