Focal Randomization: An optimal mechanism for the evaluation of R&D

In most countries, governments intervene in the process of R&D by financing a substantial part of it. The mechanism employed for choosing the projects to be financed is a committee composed of experts who evaluate projects in their field of specialization, and decide which ones should be funded. This mechanism for evaluating projects is conservative. Proposals of new ideas are too often rejected, and inventions are commonly thrown out of the set of potential projects. In this paper, I propose a mechanism that will allow less conformity: focal randomization. Focal randomization mechanism (FRM) states that projects which are unanimously ranked at the top by all reviewers, will be adopted. Projects perceived as valueless by all are rejected, while projects that are ranked differently will be randomized. I compare the average return under the present and proposed mechanism. I examine under which conditions this new mechanism is preferable, and its consequences on economic growth.

Fertility, Non-Altruism and Economic Growth: Industrialization in the Nineteenth Century

This paper presents a model of fertility, which is specific for the industrialization that took place during the nineteenth century and which was concurrent with the demographic transition that occurred over the period. While previous research on demographic transition assumed altruism as the main element explaining the increase in fertility rates, this paper does not, since altruism seems irrelevant over this period. The relationship between parents and children is part of a whole set of values and social norms that evolved over time and were affected by changes in the economic environment. In the nineteenth century, parental behavior was not compatible with altruism. I therefore present a model that suits the social norms of the nineteenth century. The value that seems to correspond to the legal system and social norms regarding the parent-child relationship of the period of industrialization is perpetuation. Due to a budget constraint on workers, perpetuation is displayed differently in different social classes. This paper will therefore focus on the interaction between the different social classes and show how industrialization is linked to demographic transition.altruism; social classes; demographic transition; capital; proletariat; fertility; growth.

Is Privatization Necessary to achieve Quality of Universities?

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between privatization in higher education and the quality of universities. An interesting fact is that of the top 10 universities in the US, nine are private. Previous studies have claimed that there is a relationship between the privatization of universities and their quality, since countries with a high proportion of private resources have superior universities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze if indeed this supposed relationship is due to empirical regularities between quality and ownership, or whether the two are unrelated. The analysis presented herein is based on data collected on 508 universities in 40 countries. I show that flexibility is the important element affecting quality, and not ownership per se.Higher Education, quality, privatization, ranking

Why do Students Migrate? Where do they Migrate to?

The flow of students has grown very rapidly these last decades, and in some regions, has become twice as important as the flows of those seeking work. The purpose of this study is to explore the elements affecting students’ decision on migration. The two main elements affecting migration are wages, and quality of education. It should be stressed that the countries with the highest-quality education are not necessarily those with high wages. Therefore there is a need to explore whether it is quality of higher education or wage levels that determine the direction of student flows. First, we develop a simple two-stage model relating decisions on educational choices to those on job search. Our model shows that student migration is towards countries with the highest quality of higher education. In the second part of this study, we empirically investigate our theoretical model using a panel data on European OECD countries. We use the Bologna process to outline which of the elements, wages or educational quality, determines the direction of flows. We find strong evidence of concentration of students in countries with high-quality education and not in high-wage countries.Migration, Human capital, Students, higher education, Bologna process, Brain drain.

Changes in the Recruitment and Education of the Power Elites in Twentieth Century Western Democracies

The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of recruitment of elites and to investigate the nature of the links between recruitment and training of elites and economic development. We show that there was a key shift at the turn of the nineteenth century in the way the Western world trained its elites, with a second shift taking place after World War II, when meritocracy became the basis for recruitment of elites. Although meritocratic selection should result in the best being chosen, we show that meritocratic recruitment leads to class stratification and auto-recruitment. We analyze whether stratification resulting from meritocratic selection is optimal for the development of a country, and show that it is dependent on the type of technological changes occurring in the country.elite; auto-recruitment; training; education; meritocracy; stratification; economic growth

Was the Korean slave market efficient?

Over the decades, the traditional condemnation of slavery has been based not only on philosophical argumentation and moral values, but also on the conjecture that slavery was inefficient. This position led to one of the most passionate debates in economic history on the efficiency of the US slave market. This question of efficiency has not been analyzed on the slave market in Korea. The aim of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of the Korean slave market by examining the behavior of slave prices during the period 1689-1893. In order to do so, we collected long-run series of slave prices from nationwide surveys of more than 25 public and private historical records. We then tested whether the slave market was efficient using the arbitrage asset equation. We found slavery to have been efficient most of the time.arbitrage asset equation; efficient markets; Korea; slave

The Role of Higher Education Institutions: Recruitment of Elites and Economic Growth

The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of recruitment of elites and to investigate the nature of the links between recruitment of elites and economic growth. The main change that occurred in the way the Western world trained its elites is that meritocracy became the basis for their recruitment. Although meritocratic selection should result in the best being chosen, we show that meritocratic recruitment actually leads to class stratification and auto-recruitment. We analyze the consequences of stratification resulting from meritocratic selection for the development of a country, and show that these consequences are dependent upon the type of technological changes occurring in the country.economic growth, education, elites, meritocracy, recruitment, social mobility, stratification

Scientometrics of peer review

This article aims to introduce a special issue on “Scientometrics of peer review”, which collects papers originally presented at workshops and conferences organised by the COST ACTION TD1306 “New frontiers of peer review”. Peer review is the cornerstone of science and is one of the underlying processes that bring about publication traces that are at the heart of bibliometric studies. Unfortunately, despite its importance, quantitative studies on peer review are still poorly developed, often due to lack of data. The issue aims to promote the establishment of peer review as an interdisciplinary field of research and stimulate further quantitative researc

Is Privatization Necessary to achieve Quality of Universities?

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between privatization in higher education and the quality of universities. An interesting fact is that of the top 10 universities in the US, nine are private. Previous studies have claimed that there is a relationship between the privatization of universities and their quality, since countries with a high proportion of private resources have superior universities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze if indeed this supposed relationship is due to empirical regularities between quality and ownership, or whether the two are unrelated. The analysis presented herein is based on data collected on 508 universities in 40 countries. I show that flexibility is the important element affecting quality, and not ownership per se

Is Privatization Necessary to achieve Quality of Universities?

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between privatization in higher education and the quality of universities. An interesting fact is that of the top 10 universities in the US, nine are private. Previous studies have claimed that there is a relationship between the privatization of universities and their quality, since countries with a high proportion of private resources have superior universities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze if indeed this supposed relationship is due to empirical regularities between quality and ownership, or whether the two are unrelated. The analysis presented herein is based on data collected on 508 universities in 40 countries. I show that flexibility is the important element affecting quality, and not ownership per se