Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Pay Inequality Makes for Better Science (preview)

Cover Image: October 2012 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

Income inequality is rife in the world of U.S. science?and it's for the better


TRICKLE-UP THEORY: Pay inequality has been rising broadly among faculty in science and engineering, as shown in this plot of Gini coefficients from 1973 to 2006 (from the National Science Foundation's Survey of Doctorate Recipients). In life and computer sciences, pay scales vary widely at all levels of experience; in engineering and physics, pay differentials are especially pronounced among experienced faculty.

Image: Arno Ghelfi; SOURCE: SURVEY OF DOCTORATE RECIPIENTS, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, 2011

In Brief

  • The U.S. leads the world in science by almost any measure. The resources devoted to university research have a lot to do with this success.
  • But the ability to reward high productivity with high pay is key to the success of U.S. research centers in attracting and retaining the best talent.
  • Europe, in contrast, treats its professors as civil servants, with pay awarded on the basis of years of experience rather than productivity.
  • Saudi Arabian schools are trying to jump-start their reputations by lavishing high salaries on visiting scientists, with mixed success.

The U.S. has long enjoyed a preeminent position in the world of science. The nation does more research, publishes more articles that are cited by more scientists and wins more Nobel Prizes than any other. It has also long been the chief destination for scientists and engineers from other countries?many U.S. Nobel laureates are foreign-born.


This article was originally published with the title The Other 1 Percent.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=796637eafacdb576075bde5dfe1d1ebc

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