Some universities such as the University of Chicago or Stanford have great economists scattered across different units on campus. This means that REPEC's ranking based solely on the economists in the economics department understates the overall "fungible" research community. USC is another example. We are ranked #22 in the USA when comparing economics departments but we are #19 in the USA when you compare economists across the entire university. We are ranked #25 in the world (when you ignore entities such as the IMF and World Bank ) among University entities. That's pretty good! Rival schools such as UC Davis are ranked much lower because such schools have many fewer strong economists working at the school but outside of the Econ department.
At USC, we are building up a "fungible" research community with open borders between Economics, Marshall, Public Policy, CESR and the Schaeffer Center. We are already #25 in the world and our buildup is just starting. This week we are meeting with the leaders from USC Marshall to co-ordinate research activities for the new academic year.
In LA, the sun keeps shining, crime is falling, public transit is improving and this private school's endowment keeps growing. Don't bet against us!