This open access book evaluates research quality, quality of teaching and the relationship between the two through sound statistical methods, and in a comparative perspective with other European countries. In so doing, it covers an increasingly important topic for universities that affects university funding. It discusses whether university evaluation should be limited to a single factor or consider multiple dimensions of research, since academic careers, teaching and awarding degrees are intertwined. The chapters included in the book evaluate teaching and research, also taking the gender dimension into account, in order to understand where and when gender discrimination occurs in assessment. Divided into five sections, the book analyses the administrative data on the determinants of career completion of university students; increasing precariousness of academic careers, especially of young researchers; methods designed to assess research productivity when co-authorship and team production are becoming the standard practice; and interrelations between students' achievements and teachers' careers driven by research assessment. It brings together contributions from a large group of economists, statisticians and social scientists working under a project sponsored by ANVUR, the Italian agency for the evaluation of teaching and research of academic institutions. From an international perspective, the findings in this book are particularly interesting because despite low tuition costs, tertiary education in Italy has relatively low enrolment rates and even lower completion rates compared to those in other European and American countries. This book is of interest to researchers of the sociology of education, education policy, public administration, economics and statistics of education, and to administrators and policy makers working in the area of higher education.

This open access book evaluates research quality, quality of teaching and the relationship between the two through sound statistical methods, and in a comparative perspective with other European countries. In so doing, it covers an increasingly important topic for universities that affects university funding. It discusses whether university evaluation should be limited to a single factor or consider multiple dimensions of research, since academic careers, teaching and awarding degrees are intertwined. The chapters included in the book evaluate teaching and research, also taking the gender dimension into account, in order to understand where and when gender discrimination occurs in assessment. Divided into five sections, the book analyses the administrative data on the determinants of career completion of university students; increasing precariousness of academic careers, especially of young researchers; methods designed to assess research productivity when co-authorship and team production are becoming the standard practice; and interrelations between students' achievements and teachers' careers driven by research assessment. It brings together contributions from a large group of economists, statisticians and social scientists working under a project sponsored by ANVUR, the Italian agency for the evaluation of teaching and research of academic institutions. From an international perspective, the findings in this book are particularly interesting because despite low tuition costs, tertiary education in Italy has relatively low enrolment rates and even lower completion rates compared to those in other European and American countries. This book is of interest to researchers of the sociology of education, education policy, public administration, economics and statistics of education, and to administrators and policy makers working in the area of higher education.

There has been a remarkable upsurge of debate about increasing inequalities and their societal implications, reinforced by the economic crisis but bubbling to the surface before it. This has been seen in popular discourse, media coverage, political debate, and research in the social sciences. The central questions addressed by this book, and the major research project GINI on which it is based, are: - Have inequalities in income, wealth and education increased over the past 30 years or so across the rich countries, and if so why? - What are the social, cultural and political impacts of increasing inequalities in income, wealth and education? - What are the implications for policy and for the future development of welfare states? In seeking to answer these questions, this book adopts an interdisciplinary approach that draws on economics, sociology, and political science, and applies this approach to learning from the experiences over the last three decades of European countries together with the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, and South Korea. It combines comparative research with lessons from specific country experiences, and highlights the challenges in seeking to adequately assess the factors underpinning increasing inequalities and in identify the channels through which these may impact on key social and political outcomes, as well as the importance of framing inequality trends and impacts in the institutional and policy context of the country in question.

In an important contribution to educational policy, Daniele Checchi offers an economic perspective on the demand and supply of education. He explores the reasons why, beyond a certain point, investment in education has not resulted in reductions in social inequalities. Starting with the seminal work of Gary Becker, Checchi provides an extensive survey of the literature on human capital and social capital formation. He draws on individual data on intergenerational transmission of income and education for the USA, Germany and Italy, as well as aggregate data on income and educational inequality for a much wider range of countries. Checchi explores whether resources spent in education are effective in raising students' achievement, as well as analysing alternative ways of financing education. The Economics of Education thus provides the analytical tools necessary to understand the complex relationships between current income inequality, access to education and future inequality.

In an important contribution to educational policy, Daniele Checchi offers an economic perspective on the demand and supply of education. He explores the reasons why, beyond a certain point, investment in education has not resulted in reductions in social inequalities. Starting with the seminal work of Gary Becker, Checchi provides an extensive survey of the literature on human capital and social capital formation. He draws on individual data on intergenerational transmission of income and education for the USA, Germany and Italy, as well as aggregate data on income and educational inequality for a much wider range of countries. Checchi explores whether resources spent in education are effective in raising students' achievement, as well as analysing alternative ways of financing education. The Economics of Education thus provides the analytical tools necessary to understand the complex relationships between current income inequality, access to education and future inequality.