Economics: an elite subject for elite universities?

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Economics an elite subject for elite
universities? 

• An investigation into the changing nature of
  economics provision in the United Kingdom Higher
  Education sector

James Johnston Contact james.Johnston_at_uws.ac.uk
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The rationale for the study

• Concern over the withdrawal of economics
  programmes.
• What these withdrawals tell us about the health
  of economics as a university subject.
• And the implications for different parts of the
  HE system.

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Research questions

• What distinguishes retainers from withdrawers?
• Is economics in danger of becoming an elite
  subject confined to elite universities?

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• Framework for interpreting the current level of
  economics provision in the UK HE Sector (Table 1)

Offered economics in 2012 Did not offer economics in 2012
Did not offer economics before 2012 Offered economics before 2012 (Retainers) Offered economics before 2012 (Withdrawers) Did not offer economics before 2012
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The current state of provision of economics
programmes in the UK HE sector

• What economics programmes do UK universities
  provide?
• Economics, Business Economics and Financial
  Economics were by far the most common titles on
  offer in 2012
• Sixty-six universities (55) in our sample of 119
  universities offered single Economics, Business
  Economics or Financial Economics

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Table 2 Economics provision (new and old
universities)
Providing ONE of the three options Providing TWO of the three options Providing All three options
1.Aberdeen 2.Aberystwyth 8.Bradford
3.Anglia Ruskin 12.Cardiff 15.Coventry
4.Bath 13.Central Lancashire 30.Kingston
5.Bangor 16.Dundee 44.Plymouth
6.Birmingham 17.Durham 59.Swansea
7.Bournemouth 18.East Anglia
9.Bristol 21.Essex
10.Brunel 22.Exeter
11.Cambridge 23.Glasgow
14.City 24.Greenwich
19.East London 26.Hertfordshire
20.Edinburgh 27.Hull
21.Essex 29.Kent
25.Heriot-Watt 31.Lancaster
28.Keele 32.Leeds
36.London School of Economics 33.Leicester
37.Loughborough 34.Liverpool
38.Manchester 35.London Metropolitan
41.Newcastle 39.Manchester Metropolitan
42.Nottingham 40.Middlesex
46.Queen Mary 43.Nottingham Trent
49.Royal Holloway 45.Portsmouth
51.Sheffield 47.Queen's Belfast
52.Sheffield Hallam 48.Reading
53.SOAS 50.St Andrews
54.Southampton 57.Surrey
55.Stirling 60.Ulster
56.Strathclyde 62.UWIC
58.Sussex
61.University College London
63.Warwick
64.West of England, Bristol
65. Westminster
66.York
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Points of interest

• In northern parts of the United Kingdom, such as
  Scotland, economics exit titles of any sort
  appear to have been almost entirely removed from
  the prospectuses of the new university sector
• The best predictor of whether a university offers
  an economics title is almost certainly whether it
  is old or new
• Paradoxically
• Three new universities - Coventry, Kingston and
  Plymouth- offer single honours in Economics,
  Business Economics and Financial Economics while
  only two of the old universities offered all
  three titles

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The link between the Research Assessment Exercise
and the provision of economics programmes

• Of the sixty-six universities identified by us as
  offering an economics programme, only 33 (50)
  actually had an economics entry in the 2008 RAE
• In contrast, only three of the eighteen new
  universities which were identified as offering an
  Economics degree in 2012 - Kingston, London and
  Manchester Metropolitan - had an economics entry
  in the 2008 RAE

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The link between the Research Assessment Exercise
and the provision of economics programmes

• When compared to the economics and econometrics
  submissions, it is noteworthy that of the 89
  entries in the Business and Management UoA in the
  2008 RAE, 37 (42) were new universities
• Similarly, of the fourteen submissions in the
  Accounting and Finance UoA in 2008, 6 (43) were
  new universities
• Both of these proportions are high relative to
  the Economics and Econometrics UoA where only
  three of the thirty-five submissions (9) were
  from new universities

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Consequences intended or unintended?

• Given the incentive structure universities face,
  this change in priorities should not come as a
  surprise to economists
• It is an illustration of how national research
  evaluations have influenced UK universities
• Where is this trend leading us?

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University alliances and economic provision

• Only two of the Russell Group and the 1994 group
  did NOT offer economics programmes
• Of the University Alliance group, 11 out of 23
  members offered economic programmes
• Only 8 of the 27 members of the million plus
  group of universities offered economics programmes

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Retention and impact on performance withdrawers
appear to differ from retainers

• Table 3 shows what is happening within the new
  university sector. In terms of performance.
• Withdrawers seem to do a little better than
  retainers in terms of some indicators of
  institutional performance.
• Is there a learning effect?

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Table 3 New university retainers and withdrawers
compared
Indicator of performance Retainers1 Withdrawers2
Average Entry Tariff 234 245
Average Percentage with a job after 6 months 55 60
Average Research Assessment Rating Business and Management3 1.89 2.00
Average Guardian League Table Position 82 80
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Details of the geographic split in the provision
of economics programmes since 2003

• Table 4 shows 16 universities identified as
  withdrawing at least one economics title
• While Table 5 shows new university retainers
  and withdrawers
• Old universities (until now) seem to be largely
  immune from the withdrawal of economics titles

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Table 4 Economics titles withdrawn between
2003-2012
University Economics Business Economics Financial Economics
1.University of Abertay 2007
2.University of the West of England 2007
3.University of Central England 2003
4.University of East London 2007 2006
5.University of Glamorgan 2005
6.Glasgow Caledonian University 2007
7.University of Liverpool 2007
8.Liverpool John Moores University 2009
9.Edinburgh Napier University 2008
10.Northumbria University 2005 2004
11.Nottingham Trent University 2006
12.Oxford Brookes University 2009
13.University of the West of Scotland 2011
14.Salford University 2009 2009
15.Staffordshire University 2004
16.Teeside University 2004 2005
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Table 5 New University retainers and withdrawers
(complete)
Retainers Complete Withdrawers
1.Anglia Ruskin 1.University of Abertay
2.Bournemouth 2.University of Central England
3.Central Lancashire 3.University of Glamorgan
4.Coventry 4. Glasgow Caledonian University
5.East London 5.Liverpool John Moores University
6.Greenwich 6.Edinburgh Napier University
7.Hertfordshire 7.Northumbria University
8.Kingston 8.Oxford Brookes University
9.London Metropolitan 9.University of the West of Scotland
10.Manchester Metropolitan 10.Salford University
11.Middlesex 11.Staffordshire University
12.Nottingham Trent 12.Teeside University
13.Plymouth
14.Portsmouth
15.Sheffield Hallam
16.UWIC
17.West of England, Bristol
18. Westminster
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Geographic impact of the withdrawal decision

• In addition, there seems to be a distinct
  north-south divide
• There is no new university economics provision
  above a line from Preston to Sheffield

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The four interviews

• All four were new universities
• Two withdrawers and two retainers
• The two withdrawers were in the north, the two
  retainers were in the south
• Anonymity guaranteed
• Informal interviews each lasting about 2 hours at
  or near the institutions

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Contrasting experiences

• Retainers

• Withdrawers

• Demand for economics programmes had remained
  healthy
• Economics had always been part of the Business
  School
• Economics was strongly supported by senior
  management
• Economists were very active in School/Faculty
  business
• Economists brought in significant income from
  external engagement

• The demand for economics programmes had fallen
  considerably over time
• Economics was once a separate section/department
• Economics lacked support from senior management
• Economists were not very active in School/Faculty
  business
• Economists were less actively engaged in external
  income generation

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Conclusions

• Old universities have been much less likely to
  withdraw the subject than new universities.
• Within the new university sector, there is a
  suggestion in the UCAS data that universities may
  be responding to the incentives in league tables
  by altering their suite of programmes to maximise
  league table positions and that this has led some
  to remove economics.
• There is an emergence of a geographical dimension
  to the provision of economics in the new
  universities.
• Our small survey has identified five contrasting
  features distinguishing retainers from
  withdrawers.