The introduction of performance-related pay into universities in recent years implies a belief that academic behaviours are modified by money. However, many valued academic activities are poorly paid or not paid at all. Clearly other factors are at work. Academic motivation and new working patterns are explored using the literature. An anthropological term "prestige economy" is defined and located as part of a three-part model, and its application to higher education is explored, using a socio-cultural approach rooted in Bourdieu's analyses of academic life. The implications for those who seek to bring about change in institutions are considered and further research questions outlined. (Contains 1 figure.)