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Comparing the Early Research Performance of PhD Graduates in Labour Economics in Europe and the USA

Author

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  • Zimmermann, Klaus F.
  • Guimaraes, Paulo
  • Cardoso, Ana

Abstract

This paper analyzes the early research performance of PhD graduates in labor economics, addressing the following questions: Are there major productivity differences between graduates from American and European institutions? If so, how relevant is the quality of the training received (i.e. ranking of institution and supervisor) and the research environment in the subsequent job placement institution? The population under study consists of labor economics PhD graduates who received their degree in the years 2000 to 2005 in Europe or the USA. Research productivity is evaluated alternatively as the number of publications or the quality-adjusted number of publications of an individual. When restricting the analysis to the number of publications, results suggest a higher productivity by graduates from European universities than from USA universities, but this difference vanishes when accounting for the quality of the publication. The results also indicate that graduates placed at American institutions, in particular top ones, are likely to publish more quality-adjusted articles than their European counterparts. This may be because, when hired, they already have several good acceptances or because of more focused research efforts and clearer career incentives.

Suggested Citation

  • Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Guimaraes, Paulo & Cardoso, Ana, 2009. "Comparing the Early Research Performance of PhD Graduates in Labour Economics in Europe and the USA," CEPR Discussion Papers 7129, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:7129
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Early Research Performance of PhD Graduates in Labour Economics (EU and US)
      by Liam Delaney in Geary Behaviour Centre on 2010-08-31 01:04:00
    2. Performance of labour PhDs
      by Richard Tol in The Irish Economy on 2010-08-30 13:25:46

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    Cited by:

    1. Leks Borgans & Frank Corvers (Transl. by: E. Pokatovich ), 2010. "The americanization of European higher education and research," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 2, pages 5-43.
    2. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Pfann, Gerard A., 2009. "Markets for Reputation: Evidence on Quality and Quantity in Academe," IZA Discussion Papers 4610, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2011. "Evidenzbasierte Politikberatung," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 80(1), pages 23-33.
    4. Yihui Lan & Kenneth W Clements & Zong Ken Chai, 2022. "Australian PhDs in Economics and Finance: Professional Activities, Productivity and Prospects," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 22-04, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    5. Andrew J. Oswald, 2010. "A suggested method for the measurement of world-leading research (illustrated with data on economics)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(1), pages 99-113, July.
    6. Oswald, Andrew J., 2009. "World-Leading Research and its Measurement," Economic Research Papers 271312, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    7. Rolf Ketzler & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2013. "A citation-analysis of economic research institutes," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 95(3), pages 1095-1112, June.
    8. Ali Sina Önder & Sascha Schweitzer, 2017. "Catching up or falling behind? Promising changes and persistent patterns across cohorts of economics PhDs in German-speaking countries from 1991 to 2008," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1297-1331, March.
    9. Oswald, Andrew J., 2015. "The Objective Measurement of World-Leading Research," IZA Discussion Papers 8829, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Graduate programs; Research productivity;

    JEL classification:

    • A10 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - General
    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • A23 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Graduate
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations

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