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Where Do I Stand? Assessing Researchers' Beliefs about Their Relative Productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Bertoni, Marco

    (University of Padova)

  • Brunello, Giorgio

    (University of Padova)

  • Checchi, Daniele

    (University of Milan)

  • Rocco, Lorenzo

    (University of Padova)

Abstract

In 2017 the Italian government established the Fund to Finance Basic Research Activities – FFABR – with the purpose of assigning a 3,000 euros research grant to the most productive applicants among eligible assistant and associate professors. We show that, rather surprisingly, many low-productivity researchers applied to the program while many high-productivity ones did not. Our evidence from both a simple structural model of program participation estimated on registry data and a survey of the eligible population suggests that high-productivity researchers under-estimate their own position in the productivity distribution relative to the assignment threshold, while the opposite holds for low-productivity ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Bertoni, Marco & Brunello, Giorgio & Checchi, Daniele & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2020. "Where Do I Stand? Assessing Researchers' Beliefs about Their Relative Productivity," IZA Discussion Papers 13637, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13637
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    overconfidence; competitive research funds; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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