Mel'nikov R.M.Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russian Federation rmmel@mail.ru
Importance The article quantifies private, public and budget efficiency of investment in postgraduate research training under modern Russian conditions. Objectives The purpose of the study is to evaluate the long-term impact of postgraduate research degree programs for students, the federal budget and society as a whole. Methods The study draws on methods of cost-benefit analysis for different stakeholders, probabilistic assessment of various scenarios, and regression analysis of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey data. Results The paper offers an original technique to assess private, public and budget efficiency of investment in postgraduate research training based on the synthesis of cost-benefit analysis and modified Mincer earnings regression model. I developed regression models to estimate tangible and intangible benefits of obtaining the Candidate of Sciences degree under Russian conditions, and calculated the return on investment in postgraduate research training programs. Conclusions and Relevance The discounted net benefits from financing the postgraduate research programs are negative for the federal budget, since the share of successful thesis defenses is low. The public efficiency of postgraduate research training is positive; it increases with the increasing share of successful thesis defenses. I recommend to decrease the number of State-funded postgraduate research studies and scale up the intramural postgraduate training programs enabling successful thesis defenses and enhanced quality of scholarly results.
Keywords: investment, human capital, postgraduate research degree, graduate degree, cost-benefit analysis
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