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[zharkov]

Wow...I'm still quite surprised that a department would pass on a promising scholar in favor of a less-stellar candidate simply because of the cost of a plane ticket.  Publication records DO have an effect on a department's standing as a research institution, don't they?  Wouldn't most departments be interested in landing the best people available, even if it means spending a few hundred more dollars during the search?

Colleges often do amazingly stupid things over trivial amounts of money.

That said, I think it also depends on whether a search can generate a sufficient pool of qualified candidates without having to fly people in from foreign countries -- and perhaps more importantly -- without worrying about H1B visas.  (Remember that H1B visas are really supposed to be for cases where a qualified US citizen/permanent resident cannot be found.)
 

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Wow...I'm still quite surprised that a department would pass on a promising scholar in favor of a less-stellar candidate simply because of the cost of a plane ticket.  Publication records DO have an effect on a department's standing as a research institution, don't they?  Wouldn't most departments be interested in landing the best people available, even if it means spending a few hundred more dollars during the search?

Well, it depends a bit on the supply; when I was applying there were so many quality candidates on the market that departments could afford to be a litle cheap.  Obviously, if a department has a particular need and the ideal candidate is overseas then they might be more inclined to make the effort.  It also helps if they can do some kind of prescreening, eg a national meeting or at least a phone interview. - DvF

[larryc]

Wow...I'm still quite surprised that a department would pass on a promising scholar in favor of a less-stellar candidate simply because of the cost of a plane ticket.  Publication records DO have an effect on a department's standing as a research institution, don't they?  Wouldn't most departments be interested in landing the best people available, even if it means spending a few hundred more dollars during the search?

It may vary by discipline, but in the humanities we have a dozen equally stellar CVs right in front of us, and the dean knows that, and won't approve an international ticket unless we spend major political capital to get him to do so.