A Simple Wage-Talent Curve Illustrates Several Aspects of Higher Technical Education

Sohoni's wage-talent curve plots wages offered by an employer against the talent of a prospective employee. I use minor extensions and reinterpretations of this curve to study various aspects of higher technical education in India. The curve provides a convenient vocabulary for discussing why our undergraduates often prefer to study engineering over science, and then avoid core engineering jobs; why and how Ph D programmes attract the students they do; why and how conflicts between faculty members arise on the policies that should govern Ph D programmes; and how we might improve our system in ways consistent with stakeholders' motivations.