Do Germany’s top universities dominate faculty hiring because of their reputation, or because they simply produce more doctoral graduates? This is the central question we address in our new MAGKS Discussion Paper „Is the dominance of graduates from top-tier universities among tenured faculty driven by prestige or output?“. The study was conducted by Stefan Buechele,„Is the dominance of graduates from top-tieruniversities among tenured faculty driven by prestigeor output? Evidence from 50 years of universityappointments in Germany“ weiterlesen
Autor-Archive:Dr.Koenig
Neuerscheinung: „Karriere in der Wissenschaft, aber befristet beschäftigt“
Wie attraktiv ist eine wissenschaftliche Karriere nach der Promotion – und welchen Herausforderungen begegnen junge Talente an Hochschulen und außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen? Diesen Fragen gehe ich gemeinsam mit Anne Otto in unserem neuen Beitrag nach, der in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Zeitschrift Personal in Hochschule und Wissenschaft entwickeln (2 | 2025) erschienen ist. Im Zentrum stehen„Neuerscheinung: „Karriere in der Wissenschaft, aber befristet beschäftigt““ weiterlesen
New players, different output? A longitudinal analysis of research dynamics at German public and private universities
How do Germany’s new private universities compare to their long-established public counterparts in terms of research performance? This is the central question we examine in our new MAGKS Discussion Paper „New players, different output? A longitudinal analysis of research dynamics at German public and private universities.“ The study was conducted by Stefan Buechele, Matthias Huegel,„New players, different output? A longitudinal analysis of research dynamics at German public and private universities“ weiterlesen
The Delayed Acceptance of Female Research in Economics
Do female economists face longer delays in publishing their empirical research? This is the central question we address in our new IZA Discussion Paper “The Delayed Acceptance of Female Research in Economics” by Stephan B. Bruns, Anthony Doucouliagos, Hristos Doucouliagos, Johannes König, T.D. Stanley and Katarina Zigova. The study uses a unique dataset of over„The Delayed Acceptance of Female Research in Economics“ weiterlesen
Privatwirtschaft und Wissenschaftssektor bieten unterschiedliche Chancen für Wissenschaftler*innen in ihrer frühen Karrierephase
Heute erscheint der Bundesbericht Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler in einer frühen Karrierephase (BuWiK). Das Standardwerk zur Analyse und Dokumentation der Situation von Wissenschaftler*innen in Deutschland liefert Daten und aktuelle Forschungsbefunde zu Qualifikations- und Karrierewegen, zu Beschäftigungsbedingungen sowie zu beruflichen Perspektiven von Wissenschaftler*innen in der frühen Phase ihrer Karriere. Das International Center for Higher Education Research (INCHER)„Privatwirtschaft und Wissenschaftssektor bieten unterschiedliche Chancen für Wissenschaftler*innen in ihrer frühen Karrierephase“ weiterlesen
Keeping up with the Max Plancks? Germany’s quest for university excellence and the role of public research institutes in doctoral education
Bünstorf, G., König, J., Otto, A. Abstract: Doctoral education is a crucial stage in the academic socialization of early-career researchers. Prior research has shown that career paths and activities of Ph.D.s are shaped by the universities and departments in which they were trained. To widen this focus, we analyze the role of public research organizations„Keeping up with the Max Plancks? Germany’s quest for university excellence and the role of public research institutes in doctoral education“ weiterlesen
Costs and benefits of a formal academic qualificationbeyond the PhD
König, J. Abstract: In many Western and Eastern European countries, the habilitation is the highest formal qualification awarded by universities, ranking above the doctorate. Despite its central role in the European higher education system, little is known about the career trajectories of those who have obtained this degree. This paper systematically analyzes the career trajectories„Costs and benefits of a formal academic qualificationbeyond the PhD“ weiterlesen
Expansion of doctoral training and doctorate recipients‘ labour market outcomes: evidence from German register data
Bünstorf, G., König, J., Otto, A. In many countries around the world, the number of new doctorate recipients graduating from universities has grown sharply in the past few decades, but the implications of this expansion for the employment situation of doctorate recipients remain largely unexplored in longitudinal studies. In Germany, as in various other countries,„Expansion of doctoral training and doctorate recipients‘ labour market outcomes: evidence from German register data“ weiterlesen
Postdoctoral employment and future non-academic career prospects
König, J. Abstract: Most recipients of doctorates leave universities some years after graduation, while little is known about their future non-academic career prospects. I report results from a novel microlevel database that links information about doctoral dissertations completed in Germany with doctorate recipients’ social security records. The results, based on graduates’ individual careers for five„Postdoctoral employment and future non-academic career prospects“ weiterlesen
How reliable are journal rankings really? A new look at confidence intervals for impact metrics
When economists talk about research quality, they often talk about journals. But how confident can we really be about journal rankings? In our new paper, Confidence Intervals for Recursive Journal Impact Factors (Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 22-038), we address a simple but long-overlooked question: How much uncertainty is hidden in the numbers behind journal metrics?„How reliable are journal rankings really? A new look at confidence intervals for impact metrics“ weiterlesen
Studie: Mit der Promotion nach wie vor gute Karrierechancen
Heute (19. 2.) erscheint der neue Bundesbericht Wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs (BuWiN), der eine Bestandsaufnahme zur Situation junger Forscher/-innen in Deutschland liefert. Das International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER) der Universität Kassel hat in einem Projektverbund mit dem DZHW und dem Regionalen Forschungsnetz des IAB Rheinland-Pfalz-Saarland eine Begleitstudie verfasst. Nur jeder fünfte bis sechste Promovierte arbeitet„Studie: Mit der Promotion nach wie vor gute Karrierechancen“ weiterlesen
‘See you soon?!’ Mobility, competition and free-riding in decentralized higher education financing
Geissler, M., & König, J. Abstract: Highly skilled human capital is usually also highly mobile. Concerns regarding interregional migration revolve aroundsuboptimal publicfinancing of higher education rooted in free-riding behaviour if budget responsibilities aredecentralized. This investigation sets out to answer whether cross-state mobility of students in general and individualtaste variation in the preference for‘home’and‘university’states in particular„‘See you soon?!’ Mobility, competition and free-riding in decentralized higher education financing“ weiterlesen
Räumliche Implikationen verstärkter Drittmittelorientierung in der Hochschulfinanzierung
Blume, L., Brenner, T., Bünstorf, G., & König, J. The article investigates spatial implications of the recent shift towards merit-based public research funding in German science policy since the late 1990s. The empirical results presented indicate advantages for regions with an encompassing innovative milieu and larger overall university size. The factors directly targeted by the„Räumliche Implikationen verstärkter Drittmittelorientierung in der Hochschulfinanzierung“ weiterlesen
A supervised machine learning approach to trace doctorate recipients’ employment trajectories
Heinisch, D. P., Koenig, J., & Otto, A. Abstract: Only scarce information is available on doctorate recipients’ career outcomes (BuWiN, 2013). With the current information base, graduate students cannot make an informed decision on whether to start a doctorate or not (Benderly, 2018; Blank et al., 2017). However, administrative labor market data, which could provide„A supervised machine learning approach to trace doctorate recipients’ employment trajectories“ weiterlesen
Interrelated funding streams in a multi-funder university system: Evidence from the German Exzellenzinitiative
Buenstorf, G., & Koenig, J. Abstract: Using the Zukunftskonzepte funding line of the German Exzellenzinitiative as our empirical setting and employing a difference-in-differences approach, we study interrelations in the competitive funding of research projects. Our results indicate that enhanced inequality introduced through the Exzellenzinitiative was partially offset by changes in the allocation of resources from„Interrelated funding streams in a multi-funder university system: Evidence from the German Exzellenzinitiative“ weiterlesen
Reporting errors and biases in published empirical findings: Evidence from innovation research
Bruns, S. B., Asanov, I., Bode, R., Dunger, M., Funk, C., Hassan, S. M., … & Buenstorf, G. Abstract: Errors and biases in published results compromise the reliability of empirical research, posing threats to the cumulative research process and to evidence-based decision making. We provide evidence on reporting errors and biases in innovation research. We„Reporting errors and biases in published empirical findings: Evidence from innovation research“ weiterlesen
Replication and robustness analysis of ‘energy and economic growth in the USA: A multivariate approach’
Bruns, S. B., König, J., & Stern, D. I. Abstract: We replicate Stern (1993), who argues and empirically demonstrates that it is necessary (i) to use quality-adjusted energy use and (ii) to include capital and labor as control variables in order to find Granger causality from energy use to GDP. Though we could not access„Replication and robustness analysis of ‘energy and economic growth in the USA: A multivariate approach’“ weiterlesen
Regional effects of university funding: Excellence at the cost of regional disparity?
We investigate regional repercussions of the recent shift toward focusing academic excellence in German science policy. We find that the regional concentration of merit-based public research funding has increased since the late 1990s. However, it is challenging to identify the characteristics of winning and losing regions. There is some evidence indicative of advantages for regions„Regional effects of university funding: Excellence at the cost of regional disparity?“ weiterlesen
Dr. Johannes König 