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on Sociology of Economics |
| By: | Marco Giovanni Nieddu (University of Cagliari); Roberto Nisticò (University of Naples Federico II and CSEF); Lorenzo Pandolfi (University of Naples Federico II and CSEF) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how publication-based tenure-track systems affect the careers of Ph.D. graduates in Economics. We leverage a 2010 reform in Italy that replaced open-ended assistant professor (AP) positions with fixed-term contracts and introduced publication minimum requirements for career advancement. Using survey and administrative data, along with a Difference-in-Differences Event-Study approach comparing Economics to less academically-oriented fields, we find that the reform significantly reduced the likelihood of Economics Ph.D. graduates entering academia in Italy, while increasing transitions to academic careers abroad or to public and private sector jobs. Talented graduates were disproportionately affected, revealing negative selection into Italian academia following the removal of permanent AP positions. Despite these trends, tenure-track hires tend to publish more in high-ranking journals, suggesting that the reform’s incentive effects may partly mitigate its negative selection effects. |
| Keywords: | Academic Careers, Fertility, Publications, Tenure. |
| JEL: | I23 J13 J24 J71 |
| Date: | 2025–01–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:746 |
| By: | Shumin Qiu (East China University of Science and Technology); Claudia Steinwender (LMU Munich); Pierre Azoulay (MIT Sloan School of Management) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the phenomenon of home bias in scientific citations, where researchers disproportionately cite work from their own country. We develop a benchmark for expected citations based on the relative size of countries, defining home bias as deviations from this norm. Our findings reveal that China exhibits the largest home bias across all major countries and in nearly all scientific fields studied. This stands in contrast to the pattern of home bias for China’s trade in goods and services, where China does not stand out from most industrialized countries. After adjusting citation counts for home bias, we demonstrate that China’s apparent rise in citation rankings is overstated. Our adjusted ranking places China fourth globally, behind the US, the UK, and Germany, tempering the perception of China’s scientific dominance. |
| Keywords: | home bias; knowledge flows; citation patterns; china; science; |
| JEL: | F14 F6 F15 O3 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–06–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:534 |
| By: | Amitabh Chandra; Connie Xu |
| Abstract: | Fundamental knowledge in the life sciences has consequential implications for medicine and subsequent medical innovations. Using publications in leading life science journals to measure fundamental knowledge, we document large agglomerations in the institutions where it is discovered and a robust correlation between knowledge and subsequent citations in patents. We assess whether the institution where research is produced affects the output of scientists by using a scientist-mover design, which compares annual research output before and after a move for the same scientist. Between 50 − 60% of a scientist’s research output is attributable to the institution where they work, and two thirds of this effect is driven by the presence of star researchers. The magnitude of these effects has not decreased in more recent time periods, in the wake of technologies that make cross-institution collaborations easier, nor is it larger for moves to larger agglomerations, nor concentrated in particular scientific fields. We discuss the implications of these findings for research allocations in science and scientists’ leaving one institution for another. |
| JEL: | H5 I2 O3 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33996 |
| By: | Massimiliano Coda Zabetta; Aldo Geuna |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between international postdoctoral stays and academic career advancement among researchers returning to the Italian university system. Using a unique dataset of Italian PhD holders observed over a 30-year period, we analyze how international postdoctoral stays are associated with two key career outcomes: (i) the duration between PhD completion and first appointment as Assistant Professor (time-to-entry), and (ii) the duration between Assistant Professor appointment and promotion to Associate Professor (time-to-promotion). We identify international postdoctoral stays through bibliometric indicators by tracing foreign affiliations in researchers’ publication records and examine how their association with career progression is moderated by institutional inbreeding, homecountry linkages, and the persistence of international research networks. To explore these relationships, we apply a Cox proportional hazards model combined with entropy balancing. We validate the results of our analysis using curriculum vitae information for a subsample of researchers. Our findings show that international postdoctoral stays are associated with slower entry into the academic system but are positively related to shorter time-to-promotion. Notably, this association is strongest for researchers promoted at universities different from their alma mater. We also observe that maintaining a strong home-country publishing network is associated with quicker entry, while high persistence in postdocperiod co-author networks is linked to faster promotion. |
| Keywords: | Academic career; International postdoctoral mobility; Social capital; Inbreeding. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wpaper:742 |
| By: | Gregori Galofre-Vila (Universitat de Valencia); Victor M. Gomez-Blanco (CUNEF Universidad) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a network-based bibliometric analysis of economic history, focusing on the field’s intellectual structure, institutional dynamics, and evolving research themes and methodologies. Using data from the five leading journals in the field—The Journal of Economic History, Explorations in Economic History, Economic History Review, European Review of Economic History, and Cliometrica—we map collaboration and citation networks from 2000 to 2024. The findings highlight the continued dominance of Anglo-American and Western European institutions, with emerging contributions from Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. We also document interdisciplinary ties to economics, finance, demography, and other social sciences, and the enduring influence of seminal scholars alongside a rising generation of researchers. Finally, we identify a clear methodological shift from largely descriptive quantitative analyses to more sophisticated techniques, particularly panel data models and quasi-experimental designs. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of economic history’s evolution, highlighting both its intellectual richness and persistent institutional imbalances. |
| Keywords: | Economic history, Cliometrics, Bibliometric analysis, Network analysis |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bci:wpaper:2501 |
| By: | Dwayne Benjamin; Boriana Miloucheva; Natalia Vigezzi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the opportunity cost of pursuing a PhD by tracing the earnings trajectories of graduate students from undergraduate study through doctoral training and into the labour market. Using linked Canadian administrative and census data, we compare PhD graduates to those who complete a master’s degree, to professional degree holders, and to individuals who enter but do not complete a PhD. We find that PhD graduates earn significantly less than their peers early in their careers due to delayed labour market entry. Over time, their earnings recover and eventually surpass those of master’s graduates - but primarily among those who obtain academic positions and remain employed later in life. This "double premium" reflects both higher earnings conditional on full-time academic employment and longer labour force attachment. By contrast, the most substantial penalties accrue to non-completers who withdraw late from PhD programs. Finally, we document worsening outcomes for recent PhD graduates, driven largely by declining rates of academic employment. These findings highlight the central role of career timing, labour force attachment, and access to academic positions in shaping the economic returns to doctoral education. |
| Keywords: | PhD education; Returns to education; Human capital; Labour market outcomes; Lifecycle earnings; Administrative data |
| JEL: | I26 J24 I23 |
| Date: | 2025–07–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-802 |
| By: | Andrés Barrios Fernández; Christopher Neilson; Seth Zimmerman |
| Abstract: | From Cambridge and Oxford to Harvard and Yale, elite universities are a feature of many education systems. Andrés Barrios Fernández, Christopher Neilson and Seth Zimmerman ask whether these institutions of higher education help to promote social mobility. |
| Keywords: | elite universities, intergenerational mobility, human capital, social capital |
| Date: | 2025–06–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:709 |