Do Economics Departments Search Optimally in Faculty Recruiting?
Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: Casual observation of faculty searches by economics departments suggests that search scope varies widely. Some departments search primarily in a narrow subfield, while others search in several general or even all fields. This raises two questions: First, what is the optimal search scope for a recruiting department? And second, do departments search optimally? This paper develops a simple search model in which optimal search scope is shown to increase in the quality rank of the department. Using data from 'Job Openings for Economists', we find that higher-ranked departments do indeed conduct broader searches. This relationship is robust to the exclusion of the highest-ranked departments from the sample. We correct for measurement error in department rankings by instrumenting a reputation-based ranking with a publication-based ranking, which increases the magnitude of the quality-rank coefficient. We find that a 10-place difference in department ranking is associated with 3.3-4.6 more JEL subfields listed in a position announcement.
Source: Economic Inquiry
DOI: 10.1093/ei/cbi047
Authors: YONMIN CHEN, TERRA MCKINNISH
Institution: University of Colorado Boulder
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3122742528