New Managerialism and Austerity in the Spanish and European Academic Context. Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Abstract

Academic personnel face situations of vulnerability and precariousness in the Spanish and European context. On the one hand, the crisis situation provides justification to funding cutbacks in science and universities; on other hand, previous to the crisis, the dynamic of new-managerialism yields new symbolic and material conditions based on competitiveness. This paper provides evidences about the labour situation of the Spanish academic staff concerning both dynamics and gender differences. Firstly, we examine the new-managerialist dynamic and the austerity dynamic in the European and Spanish context. Secondly, we display quantitative evolution of the Spanish public universities during the last decade, using secondary data from databases distinguishing by sex and labour categories. The results show the decrease of civil servant personnel (mostly men) and the increase of labour personnel, before the implementation of austerity measures. Moreover, it remains a high number of assistants who hold teaching overload in universities. Women figures increase slowly, narrowing the gender gap in early and medium stages of the academic careers. In conclusion, austerity policies justify and facilitate quick implementation of the neoliberal model of research in Spain.