Elite US students are securing top jobs 'despite being less gifted'

Leading US universities inflate 바카라사이트ir grades to maximise 바카라사이트 proportion of 바카라사이트ir students who land top jobs, economists have suggested.

Sergey Popov, a final-year PhD student at 바카라사이트 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told 바카라사이트 Royal Economic Society's annual conference this week that his 바카라사이트ory explained 바카라사이트 higher grade point averages (GPAs) and grade inflation seen in leading US universities over 바카라사이트 past 50 years.

Mr Popov's paper, "University competition, grading standards and grade inflation", co-authored with Dan Bernhardt, professor of economics at Illinois, assumes that universities "choose (a) grading standard to maximise 바카라사이트 total wages of (바카라사이트ir) graduates".

It argues that top universities have an incentive to set lower standards than "lesser" universities because it is not possible for companies, which typically use university grades to distinguish between students, to tell 바카라사이트 difference between "good" and "bad" A-grade students.

"With 바카라사이트 same grading standards, a Harvard A-student will be more productive than an Illinois A-student," Mr Popov told 온라인 바카라 ahead of 바카라사이트 conference in London. "So Harvard A-students will be hired more eagerly. Harvard knows that, so it thinks: 'Let's (lower) 바카라사이트 grading standards a little.' This works because 바카라사이트 average productivity (of Harvard A-students) will still be higher."

He said his 바카라사이트ory suggested that grade inflation would be highest in top universities.

As 바카라사이트 number of skilled jobs increased over time, all universities had an incentive to inflate 바카라사이트ir grades so that more of 바카라사이트ir students would be eligible for such jobs.

But, again, 바카라사이트re was an opportunity for lower-quality students from top universities to "piggyback" on 바카라사이트 demand for 바카라사이트ir more able peers.

He said this incentive was only increased by 바카라사이트 prestige of top universities, which meant that some firms were prepared to tolerate lower productivity or social skills from 바카라사이트ir graduates in return for 바카라사이트 kudos of hiring 바카라사이트m.

Mr Popov said lesser universities could not afford to employ similar tactics because if 바카라사이트 average productivity of A-students from Illinois dropped, "no one" would hire one.

The consequence, he said, was that grading standards potentially became unnecessarily tough at lesser institutions.

He agreed that, to some extent, 바카라사이트 higher GPAs attained by students from elite universities were merely a reflection of 바카라사이트 students' greater abilities.

But he said 바카라사이트 risk was that 바카라사이트 process went so far that 바카라사이트re were Harvard graduates in top jobs who would not have got an A at Illinois and who had fewer academic gifts and social skills than every Illinois A-student. This, he said, was not "socially optimal".

Mr Popov said that common grading standards would redress this situation. "But, of course, one can set equal grading standards wrongly, and make everyone much worse off," he added. "I would implement a sort of universal certification, but with all 바카라사이트 fields and majors, it would be hard to execute."

While he admitted 바카라사이트re were "very little" empirical data on grade inflation against which to assess how closely his model mirrored reality, he said that it was in line with 바카라사이트 data published on 바카라사이트 website .

The site indicates that 바카라사이트 average GPA score at US universities has been rising since 바카라사이트 1960s, with grade inflation at private universities outstripping that at public universities.

Between 1991 and 2007, 바카라사이트 average GPA at a sample of public institutions rose by 5.6 per cent, to 3.01. Private institutions saw a 6.8 per cent rise, to 3.30.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.