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

33 Pages Posted: 8 Jul 2009

See all articles by Ana Rute Cardoso

Ana Rute Cardoso

Instituto de Analisis Economico (IAE-CSIC); Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Paulo Guimaraes

University of South Carolina - Darla Moore School of Business; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Klaus F. Zimmermann

Global Labor Organization (GLO); UNU-MERIT; Maastricht University, Department of Economics; Free University Berlin; University of Bonn; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Journal of Population Economics

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Date Written: December 2008

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.

Keywords: graduate programs, research productivity

JEL Classification: A23, J44, A11, A14, A10

Suggested Citation

Cardoso, Ana Rute and Guimaraes, Paulo and Zimmermann, Klaus F., Comparing the Early Research Performance of PhD Graduates in Labor Economics in Europe and the USA (December 2008). DIW Berlin Discussion Paper No. 850, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1430882 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1430882

Ana Rute Cardoso (Contact Author)

Instituto de Analisis Economico (IAE-CSIC) ( email )

Campus UAB
Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193
Spain
3436917157 (Phone)

Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE) ( email )

Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27
Barcelona, Barcelona 08005
Spain

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany
492283894508 (Phone)
492273894510 (Fax)

Paulo Guimaraes

University of South Carolina - Darla Moore School of Business ( email )

1705 College St
Francis M. Hipp Building
Columbia, SC 29208
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Klaus F. Zimmermann

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Bonn
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://glabor.org/

UNU-MERIT ( email )

Keizer Karelplein 19
Maastricht, 6211TC
Netherlands

Maastricht University, Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, Limburg 6200MD
Netherlands

University of Bonn

Postfach 2220
Bonn, D-53012
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Journal of Population Economics

Tiergartenstr. 17
D-69121 Heidelberg
Germany

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