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Expanding Opportunities: New Facts about the Placement of PhD Economists

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Listed:
  • Eberhardt, Markus

    (University of Nottingham)

  • Facchini, Giovanni

    (University of Nottingham)

  • Rueda, Valeria

    (University of Nottingham)

Abstract

Is the top of the economics profession becoming more insular? We study the placement of top PhD graduates over the past quarter-century matching them to their advisors. Three trends point towards greater openness: graduates increasingly place outside academia, outside the US, and into a tech sector recruiting broadly across gender, ethnicity, and program prestige. The disaggregated picture is less reassuring: the Emerging South is largely sidelined in the global job market, East Asians face persistent gaps in top academic placement, and elite advisors continue to confer substantial advantages within academia. Tech placement, meanwhile, is dominated by a single employer.

Suggested Citation

  • Eberhardt, Markus & Facchini, Giovanni & Rueda, Valeria, 2026. "Expanding Opportunities: New Facts about the Placement of PhD Economists," IZA Discussion Papers 18868, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18868
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics

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