Preview

Voprosy Ekonomiki

Advanced search
Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Budget Uncertainty and Faculty Contracts: A Dynamic Framework for Comparative Analysis

https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2008-12-72-83

Abstract

We study hiring decisions made by competing universities in a dynamic framework, focusing on the structure of university finance. Universities with annual state-approved financing underinvest in high-quality faculty, while universities that receive a significant part of their annual income from returns on endowments hire fewer but better faculty and provide long-term contracts. If university financing is linked to the number of students, there is additional pressure to hire low-quality short-term staff. An increase in the university’s budget might force the university to switch its priorities from "research" to "teaching" in equilibrium. We employ our model to discuss the necessity for state-financed endowments, and investigate the political economics of competition between universities, path-dependence in the development of the university system, and higher-education reform in emerging market economies.

About the Authors

K. Sonin
New Economic School
Russian Federation


I. Khovanskaya
State University - Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation


M. Yudkevich
State University - Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation


References

1. Acemoglu D., Robinson J. Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2005; Acemoglu D. Why not a Political Coase Theorem? Social Conflict, Commitment and Politics // Journal of Comparative Economics. 2003. Vol. 31. P. 620-652.

2. Alchian A. Private Property and the Relative Cost of Tenure // The Public Stake in Union Power / Ph. D. Bradley (ed.). Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1959. P. 350-371.

3. Altbach Ph. Peripheries and Centres: Research Universities in Developing Countries // Higher Education Management and Policy. 2007. Vol. 19, No 2.

4. Barnes N., O'Hara S. Managing Academics on Short-Term Contracts // Higher Education Quarterly.1999. Vol. 53, No 3. P. 229-239.

5. Beath J., Poyato-Theotoky J., Ulph D. University Funding Systems and Their Impact on Research and Teachng: General Frameworks. Paper presented at the Conference on Higher Education, Multijurisdictionality and Globalisation. Mons (Belgium), 2005. Dec. 14-15.

6. Carmichael H. L. Incentives in Academics: Why Is There Tenure? // Journal of Political Economy. 1988. Vol. 96, No 3. P. 453-472; Chatterjee K., Marshall R. A Model of Academic Tenure: Mimeo. 2001.

7. Carmichael H. L. Incentives in Academics: Why Is There Tenure? // Journal of Political Economy. 1988. Vol. 96, No 3. P. 453-472.

8. Del Rey E. Teaching versus Research: A Model of State University Competition // Journal of Urban Economics. 2001. Vol. 49, No 2.

9. Ehrenberg G. R. Studying Ourselves: The Academic Labor Market // Journal of Labor Economics. 2003. Vol. 21, No 2.

10. Freeman S. Wage Trends as Performance Displays Productive Potential: A Model and Application to Academic Early Retirement // Bell Journal of Economics. 1977. Vol. 8, No 2. P. 419-443.

11. Guriev S., Kvasov D. Contracting on Time // American Economic Review. 2005. Vol. 95, No 5.

12. Hansmann H. Why Do Universities Have Endowments? // Journal of Legal Studies. 1990. Vol. 19, No 1. P. 3-42.

13. Holmstrom B. Managerial Incentive Problems -A Dynamic Perspective // Republished in Review of Economic Studies. 1999. Vol. 66. P. 169-182.

14. Indiresan P. V. Prospects for World-Class Research Universities in India // World Class Worldwide: Transforming Research Universities in Asia and Latin America / Ph. G. Altbach, J. Baln (eds.). John Hopkins University Press, 2007. P. 95-121.

15. Maskin E., Tirole J. Markov Perfect Equilibrium I. Observable Actions // Journal of Economic Theory.2001. Vol. 100, No 2. P. 191-219.

16. Masten S. E. Authority and Commitment: Why Universities, Like Legislatures, Are not Organized as Firms // Journal of Economics and Management Strategy. 2006. Vol. 15, No 3. P. 649-684.

17. McPherson M. S., Schapiro M. O. Tenure Issues in Higher Education // Journal of Economic Perspectives. 1999. Vol. 13, No 1.

18. McPherson M. S., Whinston G. C. The Economics of Academic Tenure: A Rational Perspective // Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 1983. Vol. 4, No 2-3. P. 163-184.

19. Schuster J., Finkelstein M. The American Faculty. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 2006.

20. Schwartzman S. Brazil's Leading University: Original Ideas and Contemporary Goals // World Class Worldwide / P. Altbach, J. Balan (eds.). Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 2007.

21. The Case for Tenure / M. W. Finkin (ed.). Cornell University Press, 1996; Menand L. The Limits of Academic Freedom // The Future of Academic Freedom / L. Menand (ed.). University of Chicago Press, 1996.

22. Vanhaecht E., Pauwels W. University Competition: Symmetric or Asymmetric Quality Choices: Mimeo. University of Antwerpen, 2005.

23. Waldman M. Up-or-Out Contracts: A Signaling Perspective // Journal of Labor Economics. 1990. Vol. 8, No 2. P. 230-250.

24. Years after SSC: Scientists Are Long Gone, but Bitter Memories Remain // Science. 2003. Vol. 302, Oct. P. 40-41.


Review

For citations:


Sonin K., Khovanskaya I., Yudkevich M. Budget Uncertainty and Faculty Contracts: A Dynamic Framework for Comparative Analysis. Voprosy Ekonomiki. 2008;(12):72-83. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2008-12-72-83

Views: 463


ISSN 0042-8736 (Print)