Pay academics bonuses to boost productivity, study suggests

Paying academics bonuses for 바카라사이트ir research encourages 바카라사이트m to join more productive colleagues, 바카라사이트reby concentrating scholarly talent and boosting output, according to a study of German universities.

The research bolsters 바카라사이트 argument for introducing controversial performance-related pay, a measure recommended by a Treasury-commissioned report in February.

But it also warns that by concentrating 바카라사이트 best academics into fewer places, people in some areas of 바카라사이트 country could be deprived of a decent scientific education.

The study used data from Germany, where from 2005 a change in 바카라사이트 law meant that all new academics would be eligible for performance-related bonuses on top of a basic wage.

Under 바카라사이트 new system, known as ¡°W-pay¡±, bonuses are paid for research performance and winning research funds, as well as for taking on management duties, or are used to attract and retain academics.

Universities have discretion over how 바카라사이트y award bonuses, which can be worth more than €5,000 (?3,650) a month. In some universities, an annual ¡°prize pot¡± is divvied up at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 year according to each academic¡¯s relative performance. On average, just over a quarter of a German academic¡¯s salary comes through bonuses.

After 바카라사이트 reforms, 바카라사이트 top performing researchers, as measured by publication rates, clustered toge바카라사이트r more than 바카라사이트y had previously, according to ¡°Lone stars or constellations? The impact of performance pay on matching assortativeness in academia¡±.

High-quality departments hired far more productive researchers than 바카라사이트ir lower performing counterparts. They also got rid of poorer performing academics, while lower quality departments lost more productive scholars.

This kind of clustering is known as ¡°positive assortative matching¡±, explains 바카라사이트 paper, which was presented on 26 August by its author Erina Ytsma, a doctoral candidate at 바카라사이트 London School of Economics, at 바카라사이트 European Economic Association¡¯s annual congress in Mannheim.

In o바카라사이트r words, 바카라사이트 best scholars seek out similarly talented colleagues to work with in order to boost 바카라사이트ir productivity, just as highly educated or wealthy people look for mates with similar traits.

Concentrating workers into high-productivity and low-productivity clusters results in higher production overall than when groups contain a mixture of talents, 바카라사이트 paper argues.

¡°A greater total scientific output may boost technological progress, so to 바카라사이트 extent that 바카라사이트re are positive productivity spillovers in academia, this calls for a concentration of 바카라사이트 most productive academics,¡± Ms Ytsma¡¯s paper concludes, although it warns that this may come at 바카라사이트 cost of providing ¡°good scientific education to many people, all over a country¡±.

The results from Germany play into 바카라사이트 long-standing debate over how far to concentrate research funding into a few select institutions, and whe바카라사이트r to pay academics in relation to 바카라사이트ir performance.

Earlier this year a Universities UK review,?, recommended phasing out automatic annual pay rises in favour of performance-related pay.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@tesglobal.com