Academic productivity before and after tenure: the case of the ‘specialist’

Studies suggest research productivity falls after tenure. We have limited choice-theoretic understanding of why this should occur. We rationalize this as follows. Some scholars are assumed to be ‘specialists’: their research productivity consists of transforming dissertation chapters into publishable papers. We show how a department that hired such a scholar provides incentives to maximize research productivity. We show that his research productivity paths are characterized by a ‘bang-bang’ solution, that is, he works with either maximum or minimum effort. The department sets the scholar’s wages proportional to their impatience to spur productivity and only succeeds if he turns out to be more impatient than the department. We also examine career development after tenure is granted: there occurs a clear polarization in terms of academic reputation and promotion prospects between the Specialist and other staff. The article provides a novel perspective on academic productivity and the tenure system.