Wed, 28 May 2008 00:33:21 GMT
In today’s Australian, an article about potential shortages in academic staff. I was quoted:
According to Hugo, the oldest baby boomers will pass 65 in 2011, so the exodus of academic retirees will gather momentum during the second and third decades of the century. But Melbourne Business School economics professor Joshua Gans says “the crunch time will be far sooner”, especially in the sciences, since time taken to do PhD and postdoctoral work – which often requires working overseas – has extended the time to produce an academic by up to 10 to 12 years. Australia is already facing a shortfall of 19,000 scientists, engineers and technical professionals, the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia reports.
Gans predicts mass restructuring and courses evaporating from lower-ranked universities as their higher-ranked counterparts poach their staff to counter their own shortfalls.
What we should do about all of this is anyone’s guess. But one suggestion I have is decentralisation:
According to Gans, the problem is that universities don’t get to set and keep their own fees. Further fee deregulation is necessary so universities can compete with the private sector, which offers more lucrative wages, especially in fields such as law and business.
“Also, we are producing graduates based on where there are academics to teach them rather than on where they are needed in the economy,” Gans says.
[CoreEcon]
