Interview with Professor Jang C. Jin

Exploring the Economics of Higher Education

Interview with Professor Jang C. Jin

Q. Tell us about your current research, the economics of higher education. Which particular areas are you focusing on and what are some key findings so far?

 A. Over the past several decades, we have witnessed a group of steadily growing economies that were equipped with an enlarged pool of human capital and with a set of appropriately implemented educational policies. For these nations, research activities as a whole flourished, and subsequently an increasing number of articles appeared in academic journals. The published research findings were, in turn, conducive to technological advancement and thus economic growth. Therefore, academic research, especially in science and technology, is believed to be an important driving force for the development of advanced technologies, and hence economies with better-known universities generally grow faster than those without.

In this regard, I currently work on a series of papers, co-authored with my ex-colleague in Hong Kong, that ranks premier universities and research institutions worldwide based on publications in Science and Nature over recent decades. We find that US institutions dominate the league, which coincides with its development of frontier technologies during the past several decades.  We further investigate the role of such publications in economic growth across countries.  Scientific publications are found to have a significant effect on economic growth. Using English proficiency as an instrumental variable, publications are found to have a causal effect on technology advancement, which in turn has a causal effect on the growth of nations.

Q. How are your research findings applicable to Mason Korea as an institution of higher education?

A. Unlike my research objectives, Mason Korea focuses on social sciences, humanities, and business. This brings into question whether our faculty research would be unimportant for the development of our nation. Our mission is, in fact, greater than expected. While hardware technologies are developed with publications in the fields of science and technology, software technologies such as management and marketing skills and entrepreneurship are developed and improved with our publications in social sciences, humanities, and business.

Q. How do you involve Mason Korea students in your research?

A. Although we do not have PhD programs here at Mason Korea, our aim is high: undergraduate research programs encourage our students to publish in academic journals before they graduate. So far, two students’ papers have been published in academic journals, and two others are under review. It is similar to an honors program in the United States and European countries. In particular, Mason Korea is a relatively small university that emphasizes quality education on campus. This leads us to take pride as one of the first ‘liberal art colleges’ in Korea. The ratio of students to professors is very small, which makes Mason Korea the ideal place for students to work on research papers.

Q. How long have you been at Mason Korea? What is one of your favorite memories of teaching here?

A. I joined Mason Korea in Spring 2014 when the school was first founded. At the time, there were no whiteboards and erasers in classrooms until dawn on the first day of the semester. Time flies. This is my 8th year at Mason Korea. Compared to my earlier teaching experience in Hong Kong, freshmen were fluent in English. The most exciting moment for me at Mason Korea was the first year when students’ performance substantially improved because of the study groups I arranged after the first midterm. It was an option for students, similar to after-school activities in high school. This experience would not have been possible at bigger universities.