Determinants of Agricultural Economic Faculty Salaries: A Quarter of a Century Later

Abstract

This research studies factors that influence the salary level of university agricultural economists. Comparisons to previous work suggest that the impact of a single publication on salary has declined over the past twenty-five years; however, the return to relative publications is the same. The impact of years of experience has increased. Analysis of a different model specification suggests that the number of publications, advisees, and grants obtained positively impact salaries, while undergraduate course load has a negative impact. Results show that mobility and marketability significantly increase salary. Analysis suggests that there is a significant negative impact associated with an extension appointment and a significant positive impact associated with employment at a Ph.D.-granting university. Finally, the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test indicates that most universities' average salaries follow the market. E conomists have a rich history of analyzing the determinants of university salary (Katz; Diamond; Tuckman, Gapinski, and Hagemann; Broder and Ziemer; DeLorme, Hill, and Wood; Altonji and Shakotko; Hilmer and Hilmer). This research evaluates how time has altered the demand for various determinants of salary in our profession by developing a model that may reflect better today's market, and comparing the results with research conducted in 1982 by Broder and Ziemer.In the spring of 2004, we surveyed agricultural economic professionals. The Web-based survey instrument was designed to obtain confidential information, while at the same time ensuring anonymity. Several issues associated with survey bias were analyzed and rejected as causes of concern. 1 The survey yielded a total of 260 observations, which were consistent with the Broder and Ziemer study.

The design of the university system

“…More recently, self-selection and the endogeneity of teaching loads make it more difficult to ascertain an independent impact of teaching on rewards (Euwals and Ward 2005, p 1663, and Golden et al 2009, and indeed, in his survey of the academic labour market, Ehrenberg (2004) does not report studies of the relationship between teaching and research and lifetime earnings. 11 Similarly, it is commonly assumed that "non-profit" hospitals do in fact strive to maximise profit, which they do not distribute to owners as dividends, but use instead to further their aims, from excellence in research, to treating patients who are unable to pay (Danzon (1982) and Dranove and White (1994)).…”

Twelve-month and Nine-month Agricultural Economics Faculty Salaries

“…In addition, department chairs wondered if grant activity had increased only enough to cover summer salaries, meaning that faculty members were not bringing in additional money to support the department and its graduate students. Golden et al (2005) had posited a discount associated with twelve-month appointments. Our results indicate that the effect is more correctly described as an incentive associated with nine-month appointments.…”

“…The initial answer would appear to be yes" (p. 31-32). Golden et al (2005) found that nine-month faculty members were paid more on a monthly basis: "The discount associated with being on a twelve-month contract rather than a nine-month contract is an estimated $27,026 and statistically significant" (p. 14). In their study, they adjusted salaries for faculty members on nine-month appointments upward to achieve a twelve-month basis.…”

Consulting Activities of Agricultural Economists and Response to University Policies

“…Public monetary support for universities is continually changing and along with it comes changes to labor market decisions by faculty employed at higher learning institutions. This paper adds to a broader body of literature on labor market outcomes for academic economists (Hilmer and Hilmer 2005;Golden, et al 2006;Stock and Siegfried 2006;Hilmer, Hilmer, and Lusk 2012;Hilmer, Ransom, and Hilmer 2015). Research influence, measured by total citations, along with academic rank are strong predictors Consulting Activities of Agricultural Economists and Response to University Policies of current annual university salary (Hilmer, Ransom, and Hilmer 2015).…”