À propos de l'inscription sur la liste de qualification aux fonctions de maître de conférences. Une modélisation des décisions de la section sciences économiques du cnu

To apply for an associate professor position at a French public university, PhD holders must first obtain the so-called ?qualification?. Once a year, the 48 members of the national panel (the Conseil National des Universités, or cnu) evaluate the applicants during a three-day meeting and award the ?qualification?. The process is centralised and each evaluation relies mainly on two referee reports based on a set of tangible criteria, such as the number of publications, the number of conferences in France and abroad, etc. Each year, about 46% of applicants are qualified and authorised to candidate for jobs. This paper examines the determinants of the cnu decision whether or not to qualify an applicant. Estimating probit models, we found that the probability to be ?qualified? increases strongly with having at least one publication in an ?econlit referenced? journal, with the participation at conferences held in France and abroad and with having written at least three working papers. Obtaining a PhD with Honours also weights positively in the ?qualification? decision. Classification JEL : J450, C250