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Multi-Tasking vs. Screening: A Model of Academic Tenure

Author

Listed:
  • Kou, Zonglai
  • Zhou, Min

Abstract

The paper develops a model of academic tenure based on multi-tasking and screening. A professor has two tasks, researching and teaching. We assume that researching performance is easy to measure but teaching performance is immeasurable. Then Holmtrom and Milgrom's (1991) classical muli-task principal-agent model implies that the only way for the the university to "incentivize" teaching activity is decreasing the incentive power to researching activity. This justifies the low-powered contract to tenured professors. However, with low-powered contract, the university will face serious informational problem in the process of enrollment, either transferring rents to the candidates with low ability if the wage level is high, or suffering from the potential occupational vacancy if the wage level is low. To this dilemma, the up-or-out contract is a possible solution.

Suggested Citation

  • Kou, Zonglai & Zhou, Min, 2009. "Multi-Tasking vs. Screening: A Model of Academic Tenure," MPRA Paper 17670, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:17670
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/17670/1/MPRA_paper_17670.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Dinerstein & Isaac M. Opper, 2022. "Screening with Multitasking," CESifo Working Paper Series 9869, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Multi-tasking; Screening; Academic Tenure; Up-or-Out Contract;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • M55 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Contracting Devices

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