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The Determinants of Research Production by U.S. Universities

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  • Quentin David

    (CREA, University of Luxembourg)

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the determinants of the production of research by higher edu- cation institutions in the U.S.. We use the information contained in the Shanghai ranking to estimate their performance in the production of top level academic research. We show that it is important to account for the presence of outliers, in both dimensions (x and y axes), among institutions. It appears that most of the top ranked institutions must be con- sidered as outliers. We also treat the endogeneity issue and test for the possible selection bias. We find that the income, the share of this income devoted to expenses in research and the number of professors very significantly increase the ability of an institution to produce top level academic research. We also show that the relationship between the average quality (salary) of professors and the production of research is U-shaped with a significant share of institutions located on the decreasing part of the curve.

Suggested Citation

  • Quentin David, 2009. "The Determinants of Research Production by U.S. Universities," DEM Discussion Paper Series 09-16, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:luc:wpaper:09-16
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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