Daria Platonova | National Research University “Higher School of Economics” (HSE), Moscow, Russia (original) (raw)

Papers by Daria Platonova

International Journal of Public Administration, 2022

Although education is one of the key public spheres, only about 3% (280 out of 9,319) of all pape... more Although education is one of the key public spheres, only about 3% (280 out of 9,319) of all papers have devoted to education in top-journals of public administration research in the last decade. There is a lack of discussions linking broad issues of public administration with specific phenomena in education. This special issue (SI) aims at renewing the attention to this field of study from the specific viewpoint of public management and administration disciplines. Specifically, the SI covers four streams of public administration research in education: policy regimes and reforms, distribution of public resources, efficiency of public education organizations, and micro-level practices of policy implementation. Overall, the SI adopt an approach based on analyzing the relationship between governance arrangements and its characteristic and results, with a specific attention to (i) country-level considerations and (ii) higher education as the field of application. Political economists analyze the education policy as part of the broader literature on the welfare state, but few studies show the specific relevance of the welfare regime framework for higher education. For example, Förster (2012) found empirical support that liberal welfare models foster market mechanisms and individual responsibility in higher education as well, relying more on tuition fees (see a detailed review in Garritzmann, 2016). No pure models are widely accepted for education governance analysis, because nations follow different logics characterized by different timing, past legacies, role of state and approaches of coordination – as individuated by the classical Clark's triangle (Clark, 1983) – see, Gornitzka and Maassen (2011) and Capano (2019). In the current context, there is an ongoing process of adoption of policy instruments such as students' loans, performance-based accountability and funding, steering tools, accreditation and assessment of educational outcomes, incentives for international mobility, microcredentials, etc. These instruments actually design the complex mix of governing models, and the key question is what are the factors and their combination that determine policy choices and changes. The paper by Broucker et al (2021, this issue) opens the special issue, dealing with this topic. The authors present the comparative study of three cases (namely Flanders, Italy, and Finland) aiming to understand what why actual implementation of the Bologna Process in higher education was so different even when the policy instruments and policy goals were similar. The preconditions such as regulatory system and support from meso-level governance are critically important for feasibility of policy expectations. Also the case of Russian Excellence Initiative (Project 5–100) presented in (Koctchegura et al., 2021, this issue) paper shows the role of the preconditions in designing and implementation the government intervention. The authors contribute to the discussion of the factors that define favorable conditions for enhancing excellence of higher educational institutions with measurable outcomes. Moving from considering the stimulus of the Bologna Process to market mechanisms in HE, several papers focus on evolving policy regimes in higher education. Firstly, Muyters et al (2021, this issue) address the question of the suitability of network governance for higher education. Building their arguments on a qualitative empirical method, they come up with the benefits of this governance regime specifically in higher education. It enables to limit competitive pressure, to achieve financial security, internal and external transparency, organizational autonomy, and a clear vision. Secondly, Pekkola et al (2021, this issue) analyze the hybridity of higher education governance that is the result of the interplay between the logic of managerialism and academic values centered on autonomy and the public good. The authors use comparative methodology for multi-level analysis of three country cases (Finland, Norway, and Sweden). The interrelation between political regimes and education funding is a topic abundantly discussed in literature (Garritzmann, 2016). The scope and distribution of

Higher Education Policy, 2022

Soviet higher education had a distinctive institutional landscape. It combined two institutional ... more Soviet higher education had a distinctive institutional landscape. It combined two institutional types in a uniform model that embedded higher education in the national economy. This paper focuses on the post-Soviet system-level changes in the institutional landscape in all 15 countries of the former USSR. It shows that over last three decades the Soviet two-type institutional model evolved into a three-type model, with the specialized university as a new institutional type. Highlighting the instruments of horizontal and vertical differentiation for each country, the paper explains how structural reforms and market forces led to the rise of the university/multiversity form of institution, and the strengthening of vertical stratification at system level. The comparative analysis shows that there have been different patterns of transformation in the 15 countries, shaped by unique combinations of structural reforms and marketization policies, with certain countries having made more distinctive steps away from the Soviet institutional model. There are now 15 formally different systems of higher education which poses further questions for comparative analysis.

Despite the differences in political, social, economic, and cultural histories, Brazil, Russia, I... more Despite the differences in political, social, economic, and cultural histories, Brazil, Russia, India, and China share the common characteristics. The BRIC countries are very large in terms of population, territory, and economy. Each country has great economic and political influence in the regions, as well as dominance in education sphere (Altbach et al. 2013). They are emerging markets as their economies have been rapidly growing for the last decades while remaining lower middle income or upper middle income countries (World Bank 2016). The experience of these countries is critical for understanding the higher education system dynamics in large countries with limited resources.

Palgrave Studies in Global Higher Education, 2018

In this chapter we explore the higher education institutional landscape taking the case of the la... more In this chapter we explore the higher education institutional landscape taking the case of the largest post-Soviet higher education system: Russia. In the Post-Soviet period, Russian higher education has tremendously expanded. The dramatic growth of the number of students and institutions has been facilitated by the introduction of tuition fees in public and a new private sector. The shifts in social and economic demand for professional fields affected the disciplinary and organisational structure of higher educational institutions.The external forces (economic, political, social conditions) and higher education policy have been changing during the last decades. In the first part of the transitional period, the state provided limited regulation of the higher education system. In the 2000s, it has returned to its role of the main agent of change of the higher education system design. The diversity of institutional types that evolved in Russian higher education illustrate the conseque...

Russian Education & Society, 2017

This article analyzes how Russia’s networks of higher education institutions contribute to their ... more This article analyzes how Russia’s networks of higher education institutions contribute to their host regions in terms of the following three major facets: the economic development; the human capital development; and the innovative development. To ensure the analytical framework used derives relevant and representative findings given the nature of the Russian socio-economic environment, the authors implement a customized methodology that factors in the most appropriate components from various international best practices in assessing university effects on comprehensive societal development. The study will be of interest to a wide audience of stakeholders in higher education and broader contexts, including policy professionals at the federal and regional levels, institutional leadership, researchers and analysts, students in socio-political, economic, and educational majors, etc.

European Journal of Higher Education, 2019

This study addresses the lack of studies of diversity in post-Soviet higher education systems. It... more This study addresses the lack of studies of diversity in post-Soviet higher education systems. It aims to examine institutional diversity in two post-Soviet countries as the result of higher state and market forces in the context of high-participation systems of higher education. The 'enrollment economy' has become the most powerful signal for higher education institutions in both countries. However, in Belarus, the conservative position of both the state and organizations, mitigates the effects of market-driven signals. The study reveals bifurcation as the key process distinguishing Russian higher education from Belarusian. While still in Russia middle-layer HEIs are not capable of changes in sectoral identity locked-in by the Soviet model.

Russian Education & Society, 2018

The article presents the results of an analytical study that explores the development patterns of... more The article presents the results of an analytical study that explores the development patterns of universities that participate in the Russian Academic Excellence Initiative (the 5-100 Project) in terms of their financing structure, their priority development areas, and the trends for key performance indicators. By using statistical methods, including cluster analysis, we have attempted to establish the development patterns of universities that are participating in the project from various angles. Our analysis was based on data from the Monitoring Study of the Performance of Institutions of Higher Education conducted by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation as well as

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018

This research studies the short-term effects of the Russian Excellence Initiative Project 5to100 ... more This research studies the short-term effects of the Russian Excellence Initiative Project 5to100 on participating universities. To trace the effect, we develop a quasi-experimental econometric methodology. A control group of universities comparable to the Project 5to100 universities at the starting point of the program's implementation was singled out using propensity score matching. Data envelopment analysis was conducted, and the Malmquist productivity index was calculated to trace how and why the efficiency of the "participants" and "non-participants" of the Project 5to100 has changed due to the project. We also investigate the direct impact of the policy on the research productivity of universities, using the average treatment effect, and difference-indifference approaches. The final step consists of an explanatory analysis of the factors apart from the policy potentially affecting efficiency scores. We find statistically significant positive effects of the policy both on the productivity and on the efficiency of the participating universities.

Economy of Region, 2016

This paper explores the correlation between the degree of competition between higher education in... more This paper explores the correlation between the degree of competition between higher education institutions (HEIs) and the efficiency of regional higher education systems using evidence from the Russian Federation. The choice of the regional system of higher education as a unit of analysis is explained by the features of the Russian system of higher education, especially by "closeness" in the borders of regions. We propose a special approach for the evaluation of the regional higher education system efficiency from the public administration perspective. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), we investigate the efficiency of higher education systems in the regions and compare the results with the extent of higher education competition within them. The results indicate that higher efficiency scores and higher competition between HEIs in Russian regions are positively correlated. Moreover, by introducing socioeconomic context status as a grouping parameter, we are able to specify the conditions of this relationship. The study explores that correlation between efficiency and competition is stronger in developing and low-performing regions. At the same time, higher education systems in developed regions consist of different HEIs, which create a competitive environment, although their efficiency level varies considerably. Taking into account all limitations of the study, these results contain several important issues for policy-making and higher education research discussions. They challenge the universalistic assumptions for the direction of higher education development.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015

This paper explores the relationship between the degree of competition between higher education i... more This paper explores the relationship between the degree of competition between higher education institutions (HEIs) and the efficiency of regional higher education systems using evidence from the Russian Federation. The choice of the regional system of higher education as a unit of analysis is explained by features of the Russian system of higher education, especially by "closeness" in the borders of regions. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) we investigate the efficiency of higher education systems in the regions and compare the results with the extent of higher education competition within them. The analysis finds that within the overall sample the correlation is positive, but not striking. However the extent of competition correlates with the efficiency of regional sets of HEIs more in less socioeconomically developed regions.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014

This article explores the issue of program diversification within Russian higher education instit... more This article explores the issue of program diversification within Russian higher education institutions (HEIs) and its major determining forces. Comparing several historical types of specialized institutions, which were manly formed during the Soviet period, this study highlights two key issues. Firstly, we investigate how these specialized institutions have transformed, and secondly, we make an attempt to determine the cause of these transformations. We assume that the level of diversification and program drift is defined by two influential forces: state regulation and market forces. Empirical evidence on the changes of HEIs internal diversification includes quantitative analysis distributed throughout eight fields of education.

Tertiary Education and Management

The study focuses on the discussion of how universities middle managers perceive the effects of s... more The study focuses on the discussion of how universities middle managers perceive the effects of strategic plan's elaboration and implementation. The paper presents the institutional context of strategic thinking in the Russian higher education system, and the analysis of changes in universities' activities with the influence of the strategy implementation. The latter is based on the survey data and represents the perception of universities' middle managers (faculty deans and research department heads). The analysis of survey data is complemented by the calculation of changes in organizational-level performance indicators. The results suggest that middle managers' perception of strategies in general correlates to the changes in actual institutional performance indicators.