‘The Work Will Continue Independently Of My Location’
John Nye, Professor at George Mason University (USA), who has recently become the Academic Supervisor of the HSE’s International Laboratory for Institutional Analysis of Economic Reforms, told us about his view of the laboratory’s activity.
— Mr. Nye, how did your work with the HSE start?
— Several years ago I met some HSE staff members, in particular Maria Yudkevich, when I read lecture at the Ronald Coase Institute. After that, in 2009, I was guest lecturer at the Summer School of Institutional Analysis, and also read a small course for HSE researchers in 2010. I liked the approach that HSE researchers had to the study of the problems of institutional economics and political economics of economic reforms. In addition to that, the HSE and George Mason University teach a joint master’s programme. The Higher School of Economics is actively developing international links and has started some research into reforms in education. I was offered the opportunity to become Academic Supervisor of the Laboratory for Institutional Analysis of Economic Reforms which is part of the HSE Institute of Institutional Research, to come to Russia several times a year to work with colleagues, and carry out academic supervision of postgraduate students’ work. Building ties with international experts is part of the HSE’s development programme. I’ve already worked with a variety of institutions, I was guest professor at several universities and also participated in joint research projects with some colleagues in the U.S., France and the Philippines.
— What exactly is the HSE project you’ll be working on?
— I’ve been working on different problems related to institutional reforms and development, for example, in industrial organizations and in the sphere of trade. The HSE is also interested in the study of issues related to reforms and institutional transformation both on a local and international level. In the Laboratory we are planning to work on a broad range of problems concerning institutional dynamics, but we shall start with the educational sphere.
— What specifically will your first studies will be dedicated to?
— Recently we have been more and more interested in the problems of education and educational reform. The problems of improving the quality of higher education – both related to work with students and the development of research potential – is a matter of concern for leading universities all over the world. For many reasons the high level of research and the quality of education are potentially among the most globalized areas. Developed countries get colossal benefits from the work of their best universities and attract many of the best students from all over the world for education and research.
We shall start our research with an attempt to answer some basic questions. How successful are various students in their studies? What are the determinants of academic success? How accurately can the results of entrance tests (the Unified State Examination – USE – in Russia) predict further achievements? Do students from Moscow and other large cities achieve better or worse results compared with students from small towns with similar test marks? How important are biological and health factors in achieving success? What roles do such factors as, for example, parental income or social position, play in the achievement of good results, in addition to good marks in examinations?
These traditional questions have long been studied in other countries. But in many of them, the U.S., for example, we were impeded by a lack of access to detailed information on the students in top universities. The recent introduction of the USE as the basis for student selection makes simultaneous application to several universities much more realistic for Russian schoolchildren. In turn, the Russian universities should be prepared to select applicants (we hope) from a large number of schools located outside the capital. The study of the influence of those reforms on Russian universities and the system of education as a whole seems very interesting to us.
In the future we would like to study various systems of remuneration of labour in the academic sphere in both Russia and abroad to understand how research and teaching is supported in different schools and how financial issues can stop being a decisive factor. We are also interested in the study of general issues of state expenditure and procurement. And generally we are interested in how hierarchic systems and organizations successfully implement or, alternatively, fail to carry out different reforms as a response to changing opportunities and norms. I personally would like to cover a broader range of problems rooted deeply in Russian history, to study not only the questions of educational reforms, but also the reforms of trade and business, areas which are also in need of transformation.
— How will the laboratory work? And how will you head it – here, locally, or remotely from the USA?
— I shall work together with Maria Yudkevich and Grigoriy Andrushchak, we shall coordinate the work of a number of research teams involved in various tasks together with other HSE staff and students. The ultimate aim is to establish some rules and procedures so that the work will continue independently of my location – so that the project heads can continually carry out the current research and start their own, new projects. I shall come to the HSE annually for a number of months to work on group projects, read lectures on academic topics as well as on the issues of how to carry out research and present its results, and shall continue this work and provide support from the United States. Some HSE staff members will come to the U.S. with short visits for our joint work, and some of them will have internships at George Mason University.
— Who are you inviting to join the project? What knowledge will patricipants get? What benefits will it bring?
—I would like to see outstanding, highly motivated graduates and young researchers in the project. The idea of the project is to prepare them for independent research, the results of which can be published in good Russian and international journals, and we should help them develop the skills necessary for a researcher striving for international PhD standards. While working with us they will not only develop in individual research but will also see how they should define problems, fight the difficulties of empirical work, and understand how to discuss and present their work so that its results reach their target audience both in the academic community and in the practical sphere.
I believe that in the majority of postgraduate programmes the students don’t pay enough attention to the presentation of their research in a clear and academic manner. They need to learn how to present their work clearly and effectively. A small part of this knowledge can be obtained at classes, but most of it will come from their own experience. I think that teamwork will be of use for all the participants, since they learn something new in the process of interaction with each other and getting external feedback.
The ultimate aim of the project is to take advantage of the motivating academic environment which is already provided by the HSE, and advancing it to an even a higher level. We would like the students to understand how to carry out quality research, and the young project participants to develop their skills of thinking, developing and discussing, which will become their career advantages independently of whether they continue working as researchers or go into business or join a government institutions. Taking into account the HSE’s development, this university can become one of the leading international centers both in higher education and in research.
— Can anyone join the project with his own idea?
— I completely support independence of thought. And though we shall have a large project on which the majority of students will work, I hope that some candidates will come to us with their own ideas which will become a useful addition or continuation of our work.