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on Sociology of Economics |
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Issue of 2008‒04‒12
five papers chosen by Jonas Holmström Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration |
| By: | Ketzler, Rolf; Zimmermann, Klaus F |
| Abstract: | The request for a strengthening of academic research at the German economic research institutes by the German Science Council more than a decade ago was founded on the crucial insight that sound policy advice - the traditional task of the institutes - can only be guaranteed in the long term if it is based on applied research carried out within the institutes themselves. Based on publications in academic journals, the central criterion of research evaluation, research output has improved remarkably in scope and quality and has involved an ever rising number of scholars within the institutes. It can be considered to be a substantial success of German reform policy, which should be internationally recognized. The present study demonstrates the implications of different methods of filtering and weighting research output to measure publication performance. The ranking of the institutes computed here on the basis of a wide range of alternative concepts provides fairly robust findings. The results are distorted, however, if they are based on a highly selective list of journals as was the case in previous literature. |
| Keywords: | Economic research institutes; publication measurement; research evaluation |
| JEL: | A11 I23 L31 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6665&r=sog |
| By: | Bauwens, Luc; Mion, Giordano; Thisse, Jacques-François |
| Abstract: | Using a data set of highly cited researchers in all fields of science, we show that the gap in scientific performance between Europe, especially continental Europe, and the USA is large. We model the number of highly cited researchers in a sample of countries as a function of physical and human capital and a country-specific, factor-augmenting Hicks-neutral productivity term. We find that differences in productivity between Anglo-Saxon countries and other countries are not solely due to differences in the levels of inputs. Not surprisingly, our results reveal the importance of English proficiency. However, they also show that the governance and design of research institutions that characterize Anglo-Saxon countries, as well as a few other countries that have similar institutions, is another critical factor for research output. |
| Keywords: | citations; knowledge economics; research performance; university governance |
| JEL: | C25 I23 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6625&r=sog |
| By: | Khovanskaya, Irina; Sonin, Konstantin; Yudkevich, Maria |
| 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. |
| Keywords: | dynamic game; economics of education; tenure |
| JEL: | C73 I20 |
| Date: | 2008–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6744&r=sog |
| By: | Mottis, Nicolas (ESSEC Business School); Walton, Peter (ESSEC Business School) |
| Abstract: | This papers starts from an article published by Chan et al. in Accounting and Business Research in 2006 on accounting research in Europe. It develops the idea that accounting research in Europe is much more diversified than it appears, is not limited to British academics output, and relies upon very diversified vectors (journals or books) across countries. The case of France and Germany are particularly highlighted. More generally, the addresses the question of research evaluation and its consequences on academic communities. |
| Keywords: | Accounting; Control; Research; Europe |
| JEL: | I23 M40 |
| Date: | 2008–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:essewp:dr-08007&r=sog |
| By: | J. Doyne Farmer; John Geanakoplos |
| Date: | 2008–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levrem:122247000000002067&r=sog |