RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND ECONOMETRICS

Transcription

1 Annual Report 2001 RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND ECONOMETRICS

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3 RESAM, Research Institute of the Faculty of Economics & Econometrics Universiteit van Amsterdam Roetersstraat 11 NL-1018 WB Amsterdam Director: Prof.dr J. Hartog Office: Drs C.G. van El & Drs B.C. Bouten Tel.: Fax: Cover design: Crasborn Grafisch Ontwerpers bno, Valkenburg aan de Geul 3

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5 CONTENTS Chapter 1 Mission, aims and means Goals and instruments Allocation of research time Allocation of new Ph.D. projects Monitoring Ph.D. research Promoting a stimulating research environment 10 Chapter 2 Academic results Allocation of research time Publications Results by Programme Ph.D. projects and dissertations Overall standing of research performance Prizes and honours Grants Individual standings in Dutch rankings Editorial positions Membership foreign Ph.D. committees 17 Chapter 3 Research management Main activities Focus on research programme More balanced research coverage Stimulating research output Exploit strengths and seeking distinction Infrastructure and website Data facilities 20 Chapter 4 Finance and personnel Finances and budget FEE and RESAM Overview of 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd flow of funds Position of women 24 Chapter 5 Assessment and targets for improvement Assessment director RESAM Assessment Advisory Committee on Research 26 APPENDICES I : Publications by Programme 31 II : List of persons, commissions and addresses 221 III : List of abbreviations 229 5

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7 CHAPTER 1 MISSION, AIMS AND MEANS 1.1 GOALS AND INSTRUMENTS RESAM is the Research Institute of the Faculty of Economics and Econometrics (FEE) of the Universiteit van Amsterdam. It is the umbrella entity responsible for all research by FEE faculty members. RESAM has the following mission statement. * RESAM aims for research results that significantly improve our understanding of the operation of economic systems, the behaviour of agents in the economy, and the effects of economic policies. * RESAM facilitates and promotes research by faculty members of the FEE to foster the academic ideal of intertwined university research and teaching. Embracing the academic ideal of intertwined research and teaching implies broad coverage of research fields and topics. There is no emphasis on research in topics not related to the Faculty s teaching programme. Research is organised in Research Programmes, directed by experts with core positions in the curriculum. Stimulating research that significantly improves our understanding of the economy is meant as a focus on fundamental research. In many cases, the inspiration for research questions derives from practical problems in business and society as well as from pressing problems for government policies, as is only natural for a social science. But the research results should primarily be reported to the international academic community and assessed against the quality standards that apply there. Such permanent quality assessment feeds back into the quality of instruction and advice given to business and the government. Contributions to public debates should be a consequence of developing reliable knowledge about the economy rather than a primary goal. Naturally, RESAM aims for high quality research. The Dean has formulated this goal explicitly as obtaining a position among the best ten comparable European institutions. The goal should be reached when the present Convenant (agreement on targets and financing with the University Board) expires, at the end of RESAM has allocated the following instruments to reach its goals: allocation of faculty research time; allocation of new Ph.D. projects; monitoring progress and quality of Ph.D. research; a financial budget for research related expenditures; promotion of a stimulating research environment. 1.2 ALLOCATION OF RESEARCH TIME The total faculty time budget available in the FEE, after deducting time for administrative positions (department chairpersons, curriculum co-ordinators, institute directors), is divided 7

8 equally between time allocated to teaching and time allocated to research. Research time allocation has an individual component and a Programme component. The individual component is based on past performance of faculty members and norms for new hires. Faculty members are annually assigned time for research on the basis of their publication records in the past three years. Publications are graded by quality level of the outlet. For journals, RESAM distinguishes A: excellent, international top level Publications in A level journals set directions for research, by approach and by method. They select topics and set standards for analytical and methodological level. B: good international level Publications in B level journals meet high analytic and methodological standards but have far less influence on direction and standards for future research. C: international refereed journals These journals satisfy the minimum norm of aiming for an international audience, applying blind refereeing, and publish in an accessible language. Analytical and methodological standards satisfy a generally accepted minimum level. D: other, non-refereed RESAM has drawn up a list of rankings of publication outlets (journals, publishing houses, conference proceedings, see the RESAM website The minimum norm for adequate research performance is formulated as one A-level, two B-level or four C- level publications, adding up to 100 points over the past three years. The weight for C-level publications will be linearly reduced in three steps, with a resulting weight of zero for research published in The new system will become operational for the research time assignment of the calender year 2004 which will be calculated in 2003 on the basis of points earned by output published in , for in 2002 a C publication will count for points (2/3*25) for the first time. The system will be fully implemented when research time is allocated for 2008, on the basis of results from , three consecutive years in which a C publication does not yield points. An A-level publication counts for 100 points, a B-level for 50 points, and a C-level for 25 points in 2000 and Individual authors of a publication with n authors each get a share of 2/(1+n) points of the publication. Research time assigned to individuals is related to publication points over the past three years as follows: 100 or more : : : : 0 The Dean has set up a compensation system for transition to the new from an old system in which publications were only distinguished into refereed and non-refereed. If under this old system the allocated research time was higher than under the new system, the difference will be assigned anyway (i.e. the highest research time under the two systems will be assigned). This compensation by the Dean will be applied for the last time for research time to be assigned for the year 2003, calculated in 2002 on the basis of publications made in 1999, 2000 and

9 For faculty members with part-time positions, norms and research time are adjusted proportionally. Fellows of the Tinbergen Institute, the graduate research school in which UvA, EUR and VU co-operate, have a five year protection period of their research time at the maximum of 0.5 of their working hours. Admission as TI Fellow is based on A- and B-level publications only (TI has its own grading of publications). The aggregate of individual research time for faculty members in each department (Afdeling) is made available to the department, as it is the chairperson of the department who decides on actual assignment of individuals to teaching and research tasks. The Total 2001 rect. column in the tables with Research Programme members and fte s, that has been put on the first page of each Research Programme, gives the amount of fte which was allocated wrongly due to a misinterpretation of the new system. When people did not meet the requirements of the new system but did meet those of the old, the new amount of maximum research time, 0.5 fte, was allocated instead of the 0.3 fte that should have been allocated. The rectification table shows for which researchers a rectification has been made. Aggregate research time remaining after individual allocations have been made is divided among Research Programmes, on the basis of performance (A-level publications, dissertations, reputation in the international research community). RESAM stimulates concentration of the faculty s research in Research Programmes also by other means (such as a financial bonus for each completed dissertation). 1.3 ALLOCATION OF NEW Ph.D. PROJECTS New Ph.D. projects are assigned to supervisors in an open competition on the basis of research proposals submitted to RESAM, after ranking of the proposals by the Advisory Committee on Research (ACW). The total number of available positions is determined from the targets set at the aggregate FEE level (a stock of some 40 fte positions). Assignment is based on quality and relevance of the proposal, the supervision record of the applicant, and a balanced division of Ph.D. positions across FEE. Several Ph.D. positions are earmarked as a bonus for external research funding or for newly hired professional staff. 1.4 MONITORING Ph.D. RESEARCH A Ph.D. student gets a grant (or a position) for four years. Up until the present, progress has been evaluated at the end of each year and the contract was discontinued in case of unsatisfactory performance and/or insufficient confidence in successful completion. With the change of the system of bursalen into a system with only AIO s a new monitoring system will have to be developed. Most students are affiliated with the Tinbergen Institute, and the administrative monitoring in 2001 has been the joint work of RESAM, the Tinbergen Institute and the personnel department of FEE. A special graduate programme for Ph.D. in business economics is in preparation. 1.5 PROMOTING A STIMULATING RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT A lively, active, high-quality research environment can be stimulated by many intangible activities: internal and external communication of research results, stimulating investment in 9

10 high-quality computing and communication facilities, providing information and assistance on external funding, creating facilities for external visitors, etc. RESAM stimulates the organisation of research in coherent Research Programmes with welldefined targets led by active Programme directors. The Council of Programme Directors is an important channel of communication between the Director of RESAM and the research community in FEE. Faculty members actively participate in the Tinbergen Institute, a graduate research school with a structured Research Programme of its own. Through the Tinbergen Institute, Ph.D. students have access to research facilities and funding for conference participation. TI Fellows have also access to additional research funding, in particular to organise conferences and workshops and to attract visiting scholars. 10

11 CHAPTER 2 ACADEMIC RESULTS 2.1 ALLOCATION OF RESEARCH TIME In 2001, the research capacity of the faculty was full time equivalents (fte including Ph.D s) fte were allocated to Research Programmes while 5.93 were not. A new, stricter, research time allocation model will be implemented in the coming years (see section 1.2 above). The Annual Report will list both the research time calculated according to the old and new models. By listing these differences staff who do not meet the new norms yet are stimulated to adjust their publication behaviour. In 2001, total compensation allocated by the Dean amounted to 1.96 fte. 35 faculty members (out of a total of 160 (excluding staff of the SEO and excluding Ph.D. students)) have been recognised as Fellows of the Tinbergen Institute, an increase of 9 in comparison with last year which reflects the successful human resources policy of the Faculty. Given the research time allocation of 0.50 fte for a full-time faculty member, and taking part-timers into account, this represents fte. 2.2 PUBLICATIONS As Figure 1 indicates, the total number of refereed publications is not much higher than in 1996 (190 in 2001 and 151 in 1996), but the quality level has increased substantially. A and B level publications in journals are now structurally more frequent than five years ago. Figure 1 shows a slow but steady increase in the number of A publications over the last 6 years. 1 We should note however, that the ranking of publications is not constant over time. A systematic re-evaluation of journal rankings was first applied to the publications of the year Due to this re-evaluation the number of unknown (ONB) publication has been reduced to zero A B C B/R ONB Figure 1: Number of publications Due to a miscalculation the number of publications in the year 1999 (as published in the Annual Report 1999 and the Annual Report 2000) was much too high (for A, 70 B, 80 C, 72 B/R and 2 ONB were given). Figure 1 shows the correct numbers for all years. 11

12 RESAM has recently begun to develop a system for weighing publications in/of books. Under the old system publications in/of books were given the same status as a publication in a C level journal. Publications in/of books published in 2001 will be counted according to the rank of the publishing house for the first time. RESAM has already made a ranking of Publishing houses. A chapter in a book will count for half the number of points of a journal article of that rank and for a monograph an author will receive the same number of points as for a journal article. 2.3 RESULTS BY PROGRAMME Overall, faculty members produced 683 publications: 190 refereed, 310 non-refereed and 184 professional and popular publications. Among the refereed publications, the B level is most common, both for journals and for books and proceedings. The balance between journals and books/proceedings differs clearly between Programmes, and points to some systematic differences (books are important for Methodology and History, unimportant for Econometrics), but one should not read too much in a single year s score. Between Programmes, there are also marked differences in the distribution over A, B and C levels. All Programmes (except SEO) publish at B level, not all publish at A level. Here, however, one should even be more cautious to read too much into it, as publications may be very unevenly distributed over the years. Table 1: Publications by Programme Research programme Ac.ref (excl. books) Ac.ref (books) Ac.nonref Ac.non-ref (ex. books) (books) Prof. publ. Pop. publ. Fte 2001 A B C A B C Empirical Econometric Methods Operations Research Equilibrium, Expectations and Dynamics Actuarial Science Accounting, Organisations & Society Information Management/PrimaVera Corporate Finance & Financial Systems Urban & Regional Economics Transformation of Europe Labour markets, product markets & ec. perfor Methodology & History of Economics Experimental & Political Economics SEO-Amsterdam Economics Other Research AIM Other Research F&O Other Research KE Other Research AE Total

13 2.4 Ph.D. PROJECTS AND DISSERTATIONS The faculty aims for a permanent stock of about 40 fte in Ph.D. positions funded from the primary source. There is substantial fluctuation in the number of Ph.D. graduations over time. To some extent this is inevitable. In 2001, 12 new Ph.D. positions became available, of which 1,75 were subsidized through external funding. During the year, the system of scholarships changed in favour of a system in which Ph.D. students are offered an appointment as research assistant (AIO), rather than bursaal for four years. Due to this change advertisements for the new Ph.D. positions appeared later during the year and as a consequence only 3 new AIO s were hired in The annual influx will be safeguarded, however, because the remaining positions are expected to be filled in In 2001, an exceptionally large number of Ph.D. degrees were awarded (see figure 2). With the stock of 40 fte Ph.D. positions, ten graduations annually would be the maximum of category A graduations. On top of that there would be category B graduations, which are less easy to control. A total of 24 promotions at FEE in 2001 is certainly a good score Figure 2: Number of dissertations A B C D Table 2: Dissertations by programme A-category dissertation = FEE promovendus and promotor B-category dissertation = non-fee promovendus, FEE promotor C-category dissertation = FEE promovendus, non-fee promotor D-category dissertation= FEE promotor at other university Ozis code Research programme A B AKE - EEM Empirical Econometric Methods 1 AKE - E&D Equilibrium, Expectations & Dynamics 1 A&R - ACC Accounting, Organisations & Society 3 FIM - AIP Corporate Finance & Financial Systems 2 SMM - RUE Urban & Regional Economics 2 AEC - FEF Transformation of Europe 2 3 AEC - AMO Labour mar., product mar. & ec. perfor. 4 1 AEC - ETP Methodology & History of Economics 3 AEC - EXP Experimental & Political Economics 1 SEO - SEO SEO-Amsterdam Economics 1 Total Total

14 RESAM has set up a database to keep track of internal and external Ph.D. s. For Ph.D. s that started between 1992 and 1996, the average contract duration (at termination) was 43.2 months (the average contract length is below the standard length of 48 months because of drop-outs). As of March 1, 2002, 63% of them have graduated; 60% of those 63% graduated within 5 years. The Faculty aims to raise the number of graduates, who graduate within 5 year to 80%, according to the Convenant. By cohort, the success rates are as follows: Table 3: Ph.D. graduations by cohort Cohort Total Projects started Graduated/Total 14/23 8/11 10/14 6/14 7/10 45/72 Fraction graduated from total Graduated within 5 years 9/14 6/8 5/10 4/6 3/7 27/45 Fraction graduated within 5 years Average duration to completion in months On average, graduates needed 59.8 months from start of the contract to actual graduation. If a thesis is accepted by the supervisor, it easily takes four months until actual graduation (6 weeks for the committee to read and react, communication to the dean and the office of the pedel, time to print, etc). Adding queuing time for the auditorium, a lag of up to six months after the expiry date of the contract time is quite normal. Hence, average completion time of 60 months for the first 60%, compared to a formal minimum of some 54 months is not bad. Reason for the real concern is early drop-out and the upper-tail of completions. 2.5 OVERALL STANDING OF RESEARCH PERFORMANCE There is no annually updated ranking of research institutions. Moreover, ranking based on weighted publications exploits only one dimension of research performance. A ranking of European academic institutions in , based on articles published in the ten most prestigious international journals from 1991 to 1996, has FEE ranking 17 th. This puts FEE ahead of all other Dutch institutions: Tilburg (19), Maastricht (37), Erasmus (42), Groningen (55), Leiden (58), Nijmegen (81), Utrecht (97) and the Free University (111). Output is not scaled by size of the institute. The top ranking institution (LSE) has published almost 400 AER (American Economic Review) equivalent pages, the top-ten all publish in excess of 140 AER equivalent pages. FEE published 86, Tilburg 80 pages, and all other Dutch institutions below 40 pages. A recent ranking drawn up for the European Economic Association puts the FEE at rank 9 in Europe. The ranking covers the period and is based on the thirty most prestigious journals 3. Tilburg takes up rank 1 in Europe, Erasmus is at 14, VU at 30, Groningen at 59, Maastricht at P. Kalaitzidakis, T.P. Mamuneas & T. Stengos (1999). European economics: an analysis based on publications in the core journals, European Economic Review, 43 (4-6), P. Kalaitzidakis, T. Mamuneas & T. Stengos (2001). Rankings of economic journals and institutions in economics, 14

15 2.6 PRIZES AND HONOURS Faculty members received the following distinctions. Dr G. Dedene (Information Management) received the Best Paper Award for The Bayesian Evidence Framework For Database Marketing Modeling Using Both RFM And Non-RFM Predictors, at the World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (ISAS-SCI 2001), Orlando, Florida USA, July. Prof. dr J. Hartog (Labour markets, Product markets & Economic Performance) was elected as member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences KNAW Drs M. Mossinkoff (Information Management) received the Best Paper Award for Determinants of Chain Responsiveness: Testing Two Rival Models (with Willem Smit and Ellen van Kleef) in January. The award organising Institute was the Mansholt Graduate School, Wageningen University. Prof. dr J. Theeuwes (SEO Amsterdam Economics) was a laureate of the P.W. Segers Chair of the University of Antwerp. Prof. dr P. Wakker (CREED) received the MTA publication 2001 award of the Dutch NVTAG (Dutch Society for Technology Assessment in Health Care) for the best paper published in the year 2000, for the paper Unstable Preferences: A Shift in Valuation or an Effect of the Elicitation Procedure by Sylvia J.T. Jansen, Anne M. Stiggelbout, Peter P. Wakker, Marianne A. Nooij, E.M. Noordijk & Job Kievit. Dr J. Wesseling (Department of Accountancy & Information Management) was awarded the Pro Universitatae Medal Penning of the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration on occasion of the 10th anniversary of cooperation between BUESPA and UvA. 2.7 GRANTS Two research groups at the FEE operate under long-term major grants (in excess of one million guilders) from NWO. The grants were assigned to Schooling, Labour Market and Economic Development (SCHOLAR) and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics in Economics and Finance (CeNDEF). In 2001, the following new grants were acquired. Dr C. Diks (Equilibrium, Expectations & Dynamics): NWO Vernieuwingsimpuls, ad (Fl 1,5 million) for a five year programme Dr J. Driessen & prof. dr F. de Jong (Financial Economics): INQUIRE grant on research proposal: Credit Spreads and Systematic Risk. Dr J. Driessen (Financial Economics): INQUIRE grant on research proposal: Option Pricing under Robustness and Fear of Crashes. Dr J.K van Garderen (Empirical Econometric Methods): KNAW Fellowship and ESRC grant. Prof. dr M.J. Goovaerts (Actuarial Science): NWO Project The Theory of Dependencies of risks applied to asset-liability models, (Fl ). Prof. dr S. Gustafsson (Labour markets, Product markets & Economic Performance): ESRC grant of for three years, jointly with D. Meulders (ULB, Bruxelles). Dr F.Kleibergen (Empirical Econometric Methods): NWO Vernieuwingsimpuls, of (Fl 1,5 million) for a five year programme. 15

16 Dr T.J.S. Offerman (CREED): KNAW Fellowship. Dr K.G. Tijdens (Labour markets, Product markets & Economic Performance): Employees competencies in the information society. Grant for a survey, received from Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-MES no ). Determining factors in the agenda setting processes in collective bargaining. Grant for a Ph.D. student, received from Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-MAGW no ). Wage differentials by ethnicity and gender, as part of the Loonwijzer project. Grant from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. In November, CREED celebrated its tenth anniversary. The Centre for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, founded with a subsidy from the National Science Foundation NWO, has matured into a research centre with a solid international reputation. 2.8 INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS IN DUTCH RANKINGS In the top-30 of Dutch economists, published by Economisch-Statistische Berichten, based on citations in 2001, five FEE economists appear: Wakker at 5, Boot at 12, Beetsma at 24, Groot at 25 and Van Wijnbergen at EDITORIAL POSITIONS As Table 4 indicates, FEE faculty members take up many positions as editors or associate editors of top-ranking international journals. Membership of editorial boards is about equally frequent (Table 4). Table 4: Editorial positions FEE staff Name Editorship Journal Ranking IF Boot, A.W.A. Associate editor Journal of Corporate Finance Boot, A.W.A. Associate editor Multinational Finance Journal Boot, A.W.A. Associate editor European Financial Management Claessens, C. Associate editor Journal of Financial Services Research B 240 Dhaene, J. Associate editor Insurance: Mathematics & Economics A 607 Ellman, M.J. Associate editor Cambridge Journal of Economics B 114 Ewijk, C. van Editor De Economist B 340 Fase, M.M.G. Chief editor De Economist B 340 Gooijer, J.G. de Editor in Chief International Journal of Forecasting B 677 Goovaerts, M.J. Editor Insurance: Mathematics & Economics A 607 Goovaerts, M.J. Editor Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics 455 Gustafsson, S.S. Associate editor Review of Economics of the Household Hartmann, F.G.H. Associate editor European Accounting Review C Hommes, C.H. Associate editor Macroeconomic Dynamics B 591 Hommes, C.H. Associate editor Computational Economics B Hommes, C.H. Associate editor Quantitative Finance B Hommes, C.H. Associate editor Journal of Economic Dynamcis and Control A 496 Kaas, R Managing editor Insurance: Mathematics & Economics A 607 Kuiper, E. Associate editor Feminist Economics 434 Martin, S. Associate editor Review of Industrial Organization B 241 Martin, S. Managing editor International Journal of Industrial Organization 489 Praag, B.M.S. van Associate editor Journal of Economics B 155 Schram, A.J.H.C. Editor Experimental Economics B Vylder, F.E.C. de Hon. Founding ed. Insurance: Mathematics & Economics A 607 Winden, F.A.A.M. van Editor European Journal of Political Economy B 92 Wolthuis, H. Associate editor Insurance: Mathematics & Economics A

17 Table 5: Editorial Board Memberships Bethlehem, J. Member ed. Board Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A Blaug, M. Member ed. Board Feminist Economics 434 Christiaanse, E. Member ed. Board Journal of Strategic Information Systems 256 Claessens, C. Member ed. Board World Bank Economic Review 643 Claessens, C. Member ed. Panel Economic Policy B 2208 Ellman, M.J. Member ed. Board Economics of Planning 130 Hartmann, F.G.H. Member ed. Board Accounting, Organizations and Society A 437 Hartog, J. Member ed. Board Labour Economics B Hartog, J. Member ed. Board Economics of Education Review B 280 Hommes, C.H. Member ed. Board Journal of Nonlinear Science 1167 Hoorn, A.I.J.M. van der Member ed. Board Transporation 250 Kolk, A. Member ed. Board Business Strategy and the Environment B Maes, R. Member ed. Board Journal of Strategic Information Systems 256 Maes, R. Member ed. Board Computational Economics B Morgan, M.S. Member ed. Board History of Political Economy A 92 Sonnemans, J. Member ed. Board Journal of Economic Psychology B 246 Sonnemans, J. Member ed. Board Quantitative Finance B Theeuwes, J.J.M. Member ed. Board Labour Economics B Wakker, P.P. Member ed. Board Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 1639 Wakker, P.P. Member ed. Board Journal of Mathematical Psychology 1056 Wakker, P.P. Member ed. Board Journal of Risk and Uncertainty A 878 Wakker, P.P. Member ed. Board Management Science A 1011 Wakker, P.P. Member ed. Board Medical Decision Making 2152 Wakker, P.P. Member ed. Board Theory and Decision 453 Winden, F.A.A.M. van Member ed. Board Public Choice B MEMBERSHIP FOREIGN Ph. D. COMMITTEES Faculty members participated in the following foreign Ph.D. committees. Ms. dr E. Christiaanse: H. Isomaki, University of Tampere, Finland. Prof. dr J. Dhaene: C. Ribas, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. Dr C. Duin: N.P. Sheppard, Basser Department of Computer Science, University of Sydney, Australia. Prof. dr M.J. Goovaerts: C. Ribas, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. Ms. Prof. dr S.S. Gustafsson: R. Bali Swain, Department of Economics, University of Uppsala, Sweden. Prof. dr J. Hartog: L. Diaz Serano, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Tarragona, Prof. dr J. Hartog: F. de Lima, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Prof. dr J. Hartog: E. Burdasi, European University Institut, Florence. Prof. dr C. Hommes: X. He, University of Technology, Sydney. Dr A. Klein: A. Ayadi, Université Libre de Bruxelles. Prof. dr A. Schram: C. Sola, Autonoma University Barcelona, Spain. Prof. dr F.A.A.M. van Winden: Ph.D. dissertation, University of York. Dr J. Wesseling: Z. Szabo, Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration. Dr J. Wesseling: C. László, Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration. 17

18 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH MANAGEMENT 3.1 MAIN ACTIVITIES In terms of research administration, most time-consuming activities are preparations of the Annual Report, and simultaneously allocating research time (as it is based on publication records), monitoring Ph.D. performance and administering the competition for Ph.D. positions. This year, additional burdens were associated with drawing up the ranking list of journals and publishing houses, and organising the RESAM website. Much administrative activity was required for the VSNU Quality Assessment of Research ( Onderzoeksvisitatie ). A lengthy report was due April 1, 2001, a hearing by the Assessment committee took place on October 17, The evaluation by the committee is expected in the Spring of Preparations were made for the AgBS, the Amsterdam graduate Business School. AgBS effectively started January 1, It requires an organisational restructuring of the Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, and a reorganisation of research management. Plans are made for a new structure in which the AgBS will be responsible for research in areas of business economics and business administration, and RESAM will continue to be responsible for research in Economics, Econometrics and Actuarial Sciences. Assuming the AgBS will get an independent research institute the coming year, this Annual Report will be the last integrated document reporting on the entire Faculty. Organisationally, RESAM has now been integrated in the Faculty Bureau, to facilitate cooperation and integration with other administrative units. Management support was diminished from 1.0 to 0.8, the director s position was expanded from 0.2 to 0.3 and 0.9 secretarial assistance was hired. The Bureau s effort resulted in the development and maintenance of indispensable administrative databases (Research Time Allocation, Internal Ph.D. s since 1986, External Ph.D s, Ph.D. Supervisor Track records, Annual Research Reports (faculty publications), RESAM publication Classification System). Unfortunately, data management in the university has not been integrated and collecting data for the Annual Research Reports has not been integrated (yet) with, for instance, data collection for the OZIS (Research Information System) reports, thus unnecessarily duplicating much work. RESAM is also in the process of developing a research handbook, outlining bylaws, procedures, research funding opportunities and the annual calendar. The Bureau has put much effort in developing a website; it is now fully operational and will be expanded further in the future. RESAM has set up an External Advisory Committee, to advise the director on long range research policy and strategic issues. Members are: Prof.dr J. van Benthem (UvA), Dr H. Don (CPB), Prof.dr M. Epstein (Rice University, USA), Prof.dr B. Wolffe (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) and Prof.dr W. Ruigrok (Universität St. Gallen, Switzerland). Unfortunately the external committee has not been able to come together so far due to the busy schedules of the members. 18

19 3.2 FOCUS ON RESEARCH PROGRAMME As in the previous Annual Report, we will take the Research Programme , prepared for the funding agreements (Convenant) with the University Board as guideline for discussing research policy in The action programme has four components (the last two are taken together): MORE BALANCED RESEARCH COVERAGE Seven areas were singled out for improved performance, and stimulation by devoting more resources to research. In Industrial Organisation, new research capacity was created by appointing an associate professor (Hinloopen); however, Steve Martin, holding the chair of IO, hired in 2000, has announced his departure. In Micro-economics, Jacob Goeree, a young professor with an outstanding publication record was hired. Macro-economics, after the improvement accomplished in 2000, needed no new actions. In Econometrics, new research capacity was created by strong performance in acquiring KNAW and NWO grants, and by providing tenure to young faculty. In Marketing, Strategic Management and Operational Management progress was very slow. In Management Accounting, renowned faculty was hired in part-time appointment, to stimulate the research orientation. A strong stimulus is expected from the creation of AgBS, the Amsterdam graduate Business School. AgBS will also operate as a Research Institute with its own Director of Research, who will actively promote and stimulate research in business economics and business administration. AgBS and RESAM will operate under similar rules for allocation of resources. The Council of Programme Directors will take over the role of advisory and counselling body from ACW (Advisory Committee on Research), for both AgBS and RESAM STIMULATING RESEARCH OUTPUT A strong stimulus to improving the quality of research has been provided by creating greater awareness of this policy goal in the Faculty, by appointing new faculty with a strong research orientation and by the new rules for research time allocation. Work by RESAM to grade the quality of publication outlets, by A, B and C level and setting clear, explicit standards (including the announcement that in a few years, C level publications will no longer generate credit points for research time), have certainly paid off in guiding research efforts of faculty members. Similarly, work by RESAM to bring opportunities for external funding (NWO, KNAW) under the attention of faculty members has aided in stepping up participation in these competitions. Participation in the Tinbergen Institute (the joint graduate school of UvA, VU and EUR) is stimulated. TI provides a stimulating environment for Ph.D s, with interaction among students, funding conference participation and exposure to high level seminars. Faculty members awarded the status of Tinbergen Fellow are guaranteed maximum research time allocation. 19

20 3.2.3 EXPLOIT STRENGTHS AND SEEKING DISTINCTION RESAM will continue its policy of making Research Programmes the focal points for its activities and the target for its policies. The aim is to create active, coherent and ambitious groups that will be supported in their drive to exploit their strengths and seek distinction. Resources will only be allocated by performance. RESAM assists in preparing proposals for external funding, and aims to create some budget for Programmes (e.g. by paying a bonus to the Programme for completed dissertations). 3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE WEBSITE A major improvement was made in the design and elaboration of the faculty website and the RESAM website in particular ( The website offers basic information about Ph.D. projects and vacancies, Research Programmes, academic staff and annual reports. RESAM now has implemented complete (links to) personal web pages for all faculty members, on which their CV's and papers are available and can be downloaded. Other facilities will be added to the website such as making data sets available in hard copy or as electronic file, accessible for all faculty via the RESAM site. 3.4 DATA FACILITIES It is important for researchers to have access to good data sets at low prices. RESAM has made a start with bringing together various sources of data sets, as available at the Pierson Révész Library, Amsterdam Economics (SEO) and individual faculty members. Information about these data sets can be acquired through the RESAM website. RESAM invested in the extension of these possibilities by buying access to WSA data (mostly micro-economic data sets) and Datastream (mostly macroeconomic data sets), starting the organisation of a databank, and is discussing further elaboration with the Tinbergen Institute. In the CREED laboratory, experimentation is used to study economic problems, in particular those related to political decision making. Numerous experiments are being conducted and the data generated, as well as the lab itself, is available for FEE staff. 20