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Academics as rent seekers: distorted incentives in higher education, with reference to the South African case

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  • Muller, Seán M

Abstract

The behavior of academics and academic institutions is examined through the concept of rent seeking, in which organizations or individuals expend resources to obtain ‘artificially contrived transfers’. International ranking systems, publication-based incentives, and grant awarding processes, all encourage and reward rent seeking behavior: participants engage in distorted, costly behavior to obtain rewards, including public funds, without regard to the social value of these activities. This may be especially damaging in developing countries. Detailed examples from South Africa's higher education system illustrate such behavior and its relation to policy. The paper concludes by sketching an outline of some possible solutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Muller, Seán M, 2017. "Academics as rent seekers: distorted incentives in higher education, with reference to the South African case," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 58-67.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:52:y:2017:i:c:p:58-67
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.11.004
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    Cited by:

    1. Yaşar Tonta & Müge Akbulut, 2020. "Does monetary support increase citation impact of scholarly papers?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(2), pages 1617-1641, November.
    2. Lašáková, Anna & Bajzíková, Ľubica & Dedze, Indra, 2017. "Barriers and drivers of innovation in higher education: Case study-based evidence across ten European universities," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 69-79.
    3. Lokman Tutuncu & Recep Yucedogru & Idris Sarisoy, 2022. "Academic favoritism at work: insider bias in Turkish national journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(5), pages 2547-2576, May.
    4. Lokman Tutuncu, 2024. "Gatekeepers or gatecrashers? The inside connection in editorial board publications of Turkish national journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(2), pages 957-984, February.
    5. Jill Johnes, 2018. "University rankings: What do they really show?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 585-606, April.
    6. Buckley, Ralf, 2019. "Tourism publications as newly tradeable commodities: Academic performance, prestige, power, competition, constraints and consents," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 121-133.
    7. Chen, Kenneth Han, 2023. "Pipelines of schooling: Pathways to the United States and rent-seeking practices by education agents," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Emily Yarrow & Karen Johnston, 2023. "Athena SWAN: “Institutional peacocking” in the neoliberal university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 757-772, May.
    9. Andrew Kerr & Phillip de Jager, 2021. "A Description of Predatory Publishing in South African Economics Departments," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 89(3), pages 439-456, September.

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