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Having now visited a good number of universities, I have made an observation that plenty of others have also made: Why are so many Economics departments housed in such lousy facilities? Ugly buildings, run-down, even inappropriate facilities, smelly restrooms, antiquated seminar rooms, dark hallways, 1950's or 1960' architecture, etc. While there are universities that are generally in bad shape, Economics departments surprisingly often get one of the worst draws on campus for their quarters, as long as they are not part of a business school. In the latter case, the situation is completely reversed.
So why are Economics departments that are not part of business schools so badly housed. My hypothesis is that economists really do not care. They are too obsessed with their work to notice where they are. They are all about efficiency, and a fresh coat of paint does not make a difference in that respect. Compared to other departments, it is also surprising to find how little economists bicker to obtain the best offices on the floor. It is just not that important. We achieve prestige in other ways, like a very competitive labor market. And this is where Deans allocate their money to.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
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7 comments:
You can make a similar case about how economists dress.
Are you also posting Saturdays, not just week days? There was also a post last Saturday...
I have a weekday routine that is now well established. I will use (some) Saturdays for items less related to research. My day off...
"My hypothesis is that economists really do not care. They are too obsessed with their work to notice where they are."
Oh please. Are economists supposed to be the only scholars who are obsessed with work? How about this hypothesis: departments that can pull in big-time donations/funding get nice buildings. Which is why the b-schools have them, but also engineering, biology/medicine, physics (in some places)... Econ, not so much.
Point well taken. But compare Economics to other social sciences. Only History and the "ethnic studies" have better donor potential, but Economics is still in lousier locations.
Just a suggestion: if economiists are not in a business school they will be with Arts and Sciences, yes? Within these colleges economists are low on the pecking order.
Compensation structure ?
Economists have a stronger preference for financial compensation over status symbols, so universities are allocating the nice buildings to fields where the marginal return through lower salary costs are higher.
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