Economics of corruption in doctoral education: The dissertations market

This paper addresses the issue of “dissertations for sale” in Russia. The tasks of this anthropological study include establishing the problem of corruption in doctoral education, identification of the dissertations suppliers, study of the specific services they offer, analysis of their prices on different services, and generalizations of findings in the context of the educational system. All of these tasks address the supply side of the dissertations market. This paper identifies a total of 169 firms that offer dissertations for sale in Russia. It concludes that the cost of the dissertations market extends far beyond its monetary expression. Fake doctorates undermine the credibility of real, earned doctorates, and erode the gold standard of quality in research and scholarship.

► We study the issue of “dissertations for sale” in Russia.
► We identify a total of 169 firms that offer dissertations for sale in Russia.
► The cost of the dissertations market extends far beyond its monetary expression.
► Fake doctorates undermine the credibility of real, earned doctorates.
► Fake doctorates erode the gold standard of quality in research and scholarship.