Science - March 29, 2012

Dutch academics ninth highest paid in the world

Academics in Dutch universities are paid fairly well compared with their associates elsewhere. With an average gross monthly salary of 3985 euros, they are the ninth highest paid in the world, reports Times Higher Education (THE).

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Canada tops the pay league, with academics receiving almost 5400 euros a month, according to a study of 28 countries. Researchers at the American Boston College and the Higher School of Economics in Moscow compared the salaries of academics with full-time permanent posts at public universities. The lowest paid are academics in Armenian, Russian and Chinese universities, who earn respectively 403, 462 and 540 euros a month.
According to the researchers, most of the universities are unable to pay their academic staff a salary that matches the market rate, especially for senior posts. They therefore conclude that the best and brightest scholars are no longer attracted to join the academic ranks.
Apparently, academics in all the countries have some form of extra work; moonlighting is especially rife in  countries with low salaries. This is bad for the system, one researcher tells the THE, because academics would not be able to concentrate on their tasks.
The salaries of academics in private universities have not been taken into account in the study, even though the amounts may not necessarily be higher.