Why the US currently has the best research universities: Incentives, resources, and virtuous circles
Amanda Goodall For many researchers around the world, landing a position at a leading American university is a coveted outcome. Schools like Berkeley and Stanford not only pay well – they furnish excellent facilities and above all strong colleagues. This allows the US to attract talented PhD students and professors from countries like China, France, Norway, and India (Cole 2009, Clotfelter 2010). If one turns back the clock 120-150 years, one finds something starkly different. At the time, many American academics coveted positions abroad, particularly at European universities. To il...
Source: voxeu.org