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on Sociology of Economics |
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Issue of 2009‒05‒02
one paper chosen by Jonas Holmström Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration |
| By: | Cater, Bruce; Lew, Byron; Pivato, Marcus |
| Abstract: | Academic research is a public good whose production is supported by the tuition-paying students that a faculty's research accomplishments attract. A professor's spot contribution to the university's revenues thus depends not on her spot research production, but rather on her cumulative research record. We show that a profit-maximizing university will apply a `high' minimum retention standard to the production of a junior professor who has no record of past research, but a `zero' retention standard to the spot production of a more senior professor whose background includes accomplishments sufficient to have cleared the `high' probationary hurdle. |
| Keywords: | academic tenure; labour contract; up-or-out |
| JEL: | J41 J31 |
| Date: | 2009–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:14823&r=sog |