Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain relations between socioeconomic factors and gender longevity gap and to test a number of contradicting theories. Design/methodology/approach Fixed effects models are used for cross-country panel data analysis. Findings The authors show that in developed countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and European Union) a lower gender longevity gap is associated with a higher real GDP per capita, a higher level of urbanization, lower income inequality, lower per capita alcohol consumption and a better ecological environment. An increase in women’s aggregate unemployment rate and a decline in men’s unemployment are associated with a higher gap in life expectancies. There is also some evidence that the effect of the share of women in parliaments has a U-shape; it has a better descriptive efficiency if taken with a four-year lag, which approximately corresponds to the length of political cycles. Research limitations/implications Findings are valid only for developed countries. Practical implications The findings are important for policy discussions, such as designs of pension schemes, gender-based taxation, ecological, urban, health and labor policy. Social implications The factors that increase male and female longevities also reduce the gender longevity gap. Originality/value The results contradict to a number of studies for developing countries, which show that lower economic development and greater women discrimination result in a lower gender longevity gap. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2019-0082

Деркачев Павел Владимирович - кандидат экономических наук, ведущий научный сотрудник Центра прикладных экономических исследований и разработок Института образования НИУ ВШЭ. Адрес: Москва, 101000, Мясницкая ул., 20. E-mail: pderkachev@hse.ruПредставлен обзор исследований, посвященных взаимосвязи между заработной платой педагогических работников школ и экономикой региона, а также региональным факторам, под воздействием которых складывается уровень заработной платы педработников. Рассмотрены основные показатели заработной платы педработников в регионах: абсолютный размер оплаты труда, заработная плата педагогических работников относительно средней по экономике региона, заработная плата относительно стоимости фиксированного набора товаров и услуг, заработная плата относительно душевого валового регионального продукта. На основании расчетов, проведенных с использованием открытых баз данных органов государственной власти, разработана типология регионов по показателям заработной платы педагогических работников.  Выделены семь кластеров регионов, для каждого из которых сформулированы рекомендации в отношении формирования заработной платы педагогических работников, показаны характерные риски и трудности.

This conceptual article presents microeconomic approaches to analyzing the shifts in universities’ expenses and the saving effects of the scale and scope of HEI’s activities. The authors provide an overview of econometric studies which assess the effects considered for universities in some countries. As a result, there comes to be questioned the economic feasibility of consolidating and expanding the universities’ activities, the reasonability of combining research with educational activities. The discussion concerns the transformation of the universities’ economy in the context of education digitalization, the prospects of the «economy of scale» and the «economy of scope» to be compared. The conclusions are drawn on the possible benefit for large universities, on its consequences for competition in higher education, and on the partnership benefits for all market players.

Article shows the results of a sociological survey aimed at studying the opinion of the teaching staff on the impact of an effective contract on improving the research work indicators in universities in Russia and Belarus. The survey analyzes foreign and Russian evaluation of academic staff performance. A cross-sectional (single-point) study was the design. The focus of research was the academic staff of educational institutions that went over to an effective contract (Northern State Medical University, Russia) and without the implementation of an effective contract (Tobolsk Pedagogical Institute named after D. I. Mendeleev (branch) the University of Tyumen, Russia; National Institute for Higher Education and Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank, Belarus), the overall number of respondents is 395. A semi-structured questionnaire created by the National Research University Higher School of Economics was used as a tool for sociological research. The study showed that both study groups are aware of an effective contract purpose and criteria evaluation frequency. Respondents from universities without an effective contract receive information from the Internet and have overestimated expectations of the future income level. Respondents of both groups underlined the importance of determining the greatest weight in calculating incentive payments for publication and grant activity, participation in scientific conferences. When implementing an effective contract, not all lecturers are ready to fulfill the criteria for research work, but they note the positive effect of its implementation on the indicators of scientific activity. In the group of respondents without an effective contract, one third expressed doubts about the significant impact of the implementation of an effective contract on improving the performance of research work. This article will be useful to the management of universities when calculating weighting coefficients according to indicators and criteria for evaluating the activities of the teaching staff for the appointment of incentive payments. An interesting study in the future may be a comparison of subjective assessments obtained in universities without an effective contract, and after its implementation in the same universities.

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