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Alchian on tenure: Some long awaited empirical evidence

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  • Brown, William O.

Abstract

Armen Alchian made many important contributions to our understanding of organizations. One of the most important insights was related to organizations of higher education and the existence of tenure. However, the primary empirical predictions of his explanation for tenure have remained unexplored. This paper provides some empirical evidence on these predictions. Alchian’s predictions receive strong support. The results indicate that tenure is significantly more likely to occur in nonprofit institutions than in for-profit institutions, tenure is more common in public institutions than in private nonprofit institutions, and among private nonprofit institutions the incidence of tenure is positively related to the level of endowment support and negatively related to the institution’s reliance on tuition and fees.

Suggested Citation

  • Brown, William O., 2017. "Alchian on tenure: Some long awaited empirical evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 487-505.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:44:y:2017:i:c:p:487-505
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2014.12.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 1999. "The Shaping of Higher Education: The Formative Years in the United States, 1890 to 1940," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 37-62, Winter.
    2. David M. Linsenmeier & Harvey S. Rosen & Cecilia Elena Rouse, 2006. "Financial Aid Packages and College Enrollment Decisions: An Econometric Case Study," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(1), pages 126-145, February.
    3. Gordon C. Winston, 1999. "Subsidies, Hierarchy and Peers: The Awkward Economics of Higher Education," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 13-36, Winter.
    4. Willam O. Brown, 1997. "University Governance and Academic Tenure: A Property Rights Explanation," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 153(3), pages 441-441, September.
    5. Ronald G. Ehrenberg & Paul J. Pieper & Rachel A. Willis, 1998. "Do Economics Departments With Lower Tenure Probabilities Pay Higher Faculty Salaries?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 503-512, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Alchian; Nonprofits; Property rights; Tenure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L3 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

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