IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/arx/papers/2505.20492.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Academic Research Output Derivatives: Structuring Futures and Options on Research Output Index

Author

Listed:
  • Amarendra Sharma

Abstract

This paper explores an innovative financial concept--Academic Research Output Futures (AROFs)--which aim to bring the tools of market-based finance into the realm of academic research. At the heart of this idea lies a cash-settled futures contract tethered to a composite Research Output Index (ROI), a metric designed to quantify the research productivity of universities and research institutions. By allowing investors to take positions--speculative or hedging--on the projected trajectory of academic performance, AROFs open the door to a fundamentally new funding model. For universities, this could mean access to capital markets without relying solely on grants, donations, or government subsidies. Accompanying these futures are Academic Research Output Options (AROOs), providing a layer of strategic nuance and risk control, much like options in traditional financial markets. The paper delves into the architecture of the ROI, the mechanics of the derivative instruments, regulatory and legal challenges, and the broader strategic consequences of such a framework. If realized, this model could represent a significant departure from conventional research funding approaches--one that aligns scholarly output with financial incentives in ways both promising and provocative.

Suggested Citation

  • Amarendra Sharma, 2025. "Academic Research Output Derivatives: Structuring Futures and Options on Research Output Index," Papers 2505.20492, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2505.20492
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.20492
    File Function: Latest version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2505.20492. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: arXiv administrators (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arxiv.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.