David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

somewhere around two dozen PhD
students a year, so if you are in the 80th
percentile, you are roughly fifth or sixth
in your class. These are also
extraordinary students. But look at how
few papers the 80th percentile
publishes! A fraction of the number of
the very best students. And by the way,
look at the last column—the 55th
percentile, the students who are just
above average. They are brilliant enough
to make it into one of the most
competitive graduate programs in the
world, and to finish their studies in the
top half of their class. And yet they
barely publish anything at all. As
professional economists, they can only