nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2013‒04‒06
two papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

  1. Contributions of young scholars in team-based scientific research By IGAMI, Masatsura; NAGAOKA, Sadao; WALSH, John P.
  2. A Comparative Analysis of the Diversification of University Admissions Systems: A labor market-based assessment (Japanese) By URASAKA Junko; NISHIMURA Kazuo; HIRATA Junichi; YAGI Tadashi

  1. By: IGAMI, Masatsura; NAGAOKA, Sadao; WALSH, John P.
    Abstract: How to design and manage a research team has become an increasingly important issue in knowledge creation in science. This paper aims to understand how young scholars contribute to scientific research in the context of a research team. We have found that the likelihood of the involvement of postdoctoral fellows is high in research teams working on a rapidly advancing research theme, facing competitive threat, and in those research teams with foreign-born scholars and when exploiting advanced research equipment. Focusing on the papers where the order of the authors follows contribution, the probability of postdoctoral fellows becoming the first authors is more likely to exceed that due to a random assignment in the research teams facing competitive threat, with foreign-born postdoctoral scholars and when exploiting advanced research equipment. Finally, we have found that the involvement of postdoctoral fellows is positively associated with research performance in terms of citation counts and with shorter time to the publication even if the size of project is controlled for. The finding that postdoctoral fellows accelerate the speed of research is consistent with the fact that they become more likely to be the first authors in the face of strong scientific competition. These findings illuminate how young scholars contribute to the teambased research.
    Keywords: Team, Young scholars, Science, First Author, Competition
    JEL: O30 D23
    Date: 2013–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:iirwps:13-02&r=sog
  2. By: URASAKA Junko; NISHIMURA Kazuo; HIRATA Junichi; YAGI Tadashi
    Abstract: This paper examines all types of admissions systems currently in place in Japan, and evaluates their relative performance in the labor market using graduate income. In particular, by comparing the relative performance of admission systems requiring academic testing against that of those that do not, the consequences of the rapid diversification of university admission systems seen from the mid-1980s onwards are evaluated. The analysis of the survey responses indicates that the average income for graduates who had enrolled in universities via systems requiring academic testing is statistically significantly higher than for graduates of universities not requiring academic testing as part of the admissions system. Moreover, the income difference was greater among science graduates than humanities graduates. It is without doubt that the impact of the diversification of university admissions systems should be examined from multiple angles, but the findings of this research suggest that graduates who were subject to academic testing as part of the admission system to their respective universities are assessed higher in the labor market.
    Date: 2013–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:13019&r=sog

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