Academic salaries and public evaluation of university research: Evidence from the UK Research Excellence Framework

SUMMARY We study the effects of public evaluation of university research on the pay structures of academic departments. A simple equilibrium model of university pay determination shows how the pay–performance relationship can be explained by the incentives inherent in the research evaluation process. We then analyse the pay–performance relationship using data on the salary of all UK university full professors, matched to the performance of their departments from the 2014 UK government evaluation of research, the Research Excellence Framework (REF). A cross sectional empirical analysis shows that both average pay level and pay inequality in a department are positively related to performance. It also shows that the pay–performance relationship is driven by a feature of the research evaluation that allows academics to transfer the affiliation of published research across universities. To assess the effect of the REF on pay structure, we take advantage of the time dimension of our data and of inherent uncertainty in the evaluation of the performance of academic departments generated by the rules of the exercise. Our results indicate that higher achieving departments benefit from increased subsequent hiring and higher professorial salaries with the salary benefits of REF performance concentrated among the highest paid professors.

The value of human capital within Canadian business schools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate whether an individual’s knowledge, skills and capabilities (human capital) are reflected in their compensation. Design/methodology/approach Data are drawn from university academics in the Province of Ontario, Canada, earning more than CAD$100,000 per annum. Data on academics human capital are drawn from Research Gate. The authors construct a regression analysis to examine the relationship between human capital and salary. Findings The analyses performed indicates a positive association between academic human capital and academic salaries. Research limitations/implications This study is limited in that it measures an academic’s human capital solely through their research outputs as opposed to also considering their teaching outputs. Continuing research needs to be conducted in different country contexts and using negative proxies of human capital. Practical implications This study will create awareness about the value of human capital and its contribution towards improving organisational structural capital. Social implications The study contributes to the literature on human capital in accounting and business by focussing on the economic relevance of individual level human capital. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on human capital in accounting and business by focussing on the economic relevance of individual level human capital. It will help create awareness of the importance of valuing human capital at the individual level.

Determinants of Salary Dispersion among Political Science Faculty: The Differential Effects of Where You Work (Institutional Characteristics) and What You Do (Negotiate and Publish)

ABSTRACTWe evaluate hypotheses about human capital and structural theory-based predictors of variation in academic salaries. We use standard statistical models to explore differences in salary among full-time political science faculty, while also utilizing selection models to control for factors that place individuals on different trajectories stemming from their graduate school experience. We report on several findings, one of which is the positive effect on salary associated with graduation from a highly ranked PhD program; a second being the negative effect on salary of a high undergraduate teaching load. Other findings are that negotiation positively affects salary for men, but not for women, and that journal publications increase salaries amongst women, but not men. At the associate professor level, we find a significant gender gap in salary, even with controls for human capital, structural factors, and productivity. We also find a significant effect of race on the salaries of male faculty.

Frizzled to finance: one PhD’s path from a Drosophila lab to Wall Street

An equity research analyst’s job is to determine whether the price of a stock is likely to go up or down. For science-based businesses, particularly biotechnology companies, a PhD in the life sciences can be very helpful in making this determination. I transitioned from a postdoc position to working in equity research. Here I present information on how I made the transition, an overview of the day-to-day activities of an analyst, and thoughts on how to prepare to look for a job in finance. There are significant positives to working on Wall Street, including exposure to cutting-edge clinical/translational research, access to some of the best scientists in the world, a dynamic work environment, and compensation that generally exceeds academic salaries. This comes at the cost of some independence and the satisfaction of being able to call oneself a scientist.

Paying the Professoriate: Trends in India

Academic salaries in India have recently been significantly improved. Yet, these raises have not been accompanied by higher standards of teaching or research. This article focuses on the realities of Indian higher education as they relate to academic salaries and contracts.

Academic Salaries and Contracts: What Do We Know?

Data in this article are from Paying the Professoriate: A Global Comparison of Compensation and Contracts, ed- ited by Philip G. Altbach, Liz Reisberg, Maria Yudkevich, Gregory Androushchak, and Iván F. Pacheco (New York: Routlege, 2012). Additional data can be found on the project Web site: http://acarem.hse.ru. This research resulted from a collaboration between the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College and the Laboratory of Institutional Analysis at the National Research University– Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia.

Exploring Academic Salaries in a Comparative Context

In 2007, the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) launched an exploratory project attempting to do just that— collecting and comparing salary data (in World Bank PPP dollars) from 15 countries and one territory. We looked at target countries' relative positions on the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Program for comparative analysis. In terms of salary progressions over the course of a career, our data show that faculty in wealthier, more developed countries tend to enjoy greater potential for salary growth with some exceptions. Comparing faculty salaries to average per capita–income estimates indicates that the academic profession pays well in many parts of the developing world. Given this simple reality, faculty salaries stand out as a subtle but important consideration in any national development conversation and in the race for international relevance.

Hong Kong's Academic Advantage

Hong Kong's top universities have achieved considerable success in the rankings and are recognized for their quality. This article examines the reasons for Hong Kong's success, and compares Hong Kong with mainland China. Among the themes discussed are good governance, internationalization, high academic salaries, and others.