The Moral Hazards of Higher-Education Faculty: A Qualitative Study with an Agency Perspective

摘要

Despite their qualifications, university faculties in South Asia - and other countries around the world - often fall prey to moral hazards and become dysfunctional. Students can be short-changed. To investigate this problem, 19 one-hour interviews were conducted in six highly regarded public universities in the Peshawar district of Pakistan, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa. Questions drawn from the literature addressed the perceived principal determinants of moral hazards: the missing link between pay and performance; asymmetric information; measurement problems; almost complete job and pay security; high-powered incentives; and lack of specific terms of reference (job descriptions). Based on rigorous analysis of the data, the globally applicable findings suggest the need for sound appraisal and measurement systems, strong leadership, well-established accountability, and incentives that actually link to the university's educational goals.