Understanding Variation in Start-Up Funds

Recent research in political science has uncovered and theorized about inequalities within the field. In this article, we explore a lesser publicly discussed difference that likely affects the research process: start-up funding. We surveyed assistant professors in US political science departments about their start-up packages, and we find that characteristics of the institution, prestige of the researcher’s PhD alma mater, and having competing offers predict receiving a start-up fund at all and receiving more research money in that start-up fund. The evidence also suggests that women’s offers are more sensitive to alma mater prestige, with women from the least prestigious alma maters receiving less funding than men from similarly ranked schools. Notably, publishing more does not seem to help women or men, suggesting that women from low-prestige departments in particular cannot work their way out of this disadvantage.