nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2010‒09‒25
one paper chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

  1. Scientific Productivity and Academic Promotion: A Study on French and Italian Physicists By Francesco Lissoni; Jacques Mairesse; Fabio Montobbio; Michele Pezzoni

  1. By: Francesco Lissoni; Jacques Mairesse; Fabio Montobbio; Michele Pezzoni
    Abstract: The paper examines the determinants of scientific productivity (number of articles and journals’ impact factor) for a panel of about 3600 French and Italian academic physicists active in 2004-05. Endogeneity problems concerning promotion and productivity are addressed by specifying a generalized Tobit model, in which a selection probit equation accounts for the individual scientist’s probability of promotion to her present rank, and a productivity regression estimates the effects of age, gender, cohort of entry, and collaboration characteristics, conditional on the scientist’s rank. We find that the size and international nature of collaborative projects and co-authors’ past productivity have very significant impacts on current productivity, while age and gender, and past productivity are also influential determinants of both productivity and probability of promotion. Furthermore we show that the stop-and-go policies of recruitment and promotion, typical of the Italian and French centralized academic systems of governance, can leave significant long-lasting cohort effects on research productivity.
    JEL: I23 I28 J24 J45 O31
    Date: 2010–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:16341&r=sog

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