TY - JOUR
T1 - National science training policy and early scientific careers in France and the United States
AU - Gaughan, Monica
AU - Robin, Stephane
N1 - Funding Information:
The funding profile of graduate students differs substantially between the two samples. In the French sample, half of students were supported by a public grant, higher than the national average. In the US, 14% of students were supported by competitive national grants and federally-funded traineeships, consistent with national trends. Twice as many students in the US had industry support during their graduate studies, but the percentage is only 16%. The majority of students in the US rely primarily on research assistantships, teaching assistantships, loans, and personal funds to complete training. The first two mechanisms are financed indirectly by various public and private institutions, but are at best oblique training policies at the national level. US students publish an average of almost five articles before completing the Ph.D., but the variable is skewed by some mature researchers who complete their Ph.D. in later life. In both countries, approximately one-third of graduates complete a postdoctoral position.
Funding Information:
Sources of graduate training operate differently in France and the United States. In France, industrial or public support does not advantage an academic aspirant over those who have supported themselves. It is encouraging that an individual is equally likely to enter the academic labor force irrespective of the source of his or her doctoral support. The finding in the US sample that prestigious national support has a negative impact on the first professional academic transition has serious policy implications. These grants to doctoral trainees free them from dependence on established researchers; the student is unlikely to be exploited, but this result suggests that the student may not develop the scientific and technical human capital necessary for succeeding on the academic job market. Recently, the National Research Council argued for increased reliance on fellowship awards, and decreasing reliance on research assistantships funded through grants ( NRC, 2000 ). Therefore, it is important that this result be studied further before whole graduate training financing systems are changed in the US.
PY - 2004/5
Y1 - 2004/5
N2 - The economic health of nations and regions is increasingly coming to rest on the scientific and technical labor force conducting scientific research. As such, enormous social resources are directed to educating and training those who will fire the engines of economic growth. In the first part of this paper, we compare recent investment in the scientific and technical labor forces by two giants of nationally-supported research endeavors: France and the United States. We find that France is more invested in scientific and technical training, but that both nations invest directly and indirectly in the scientific and technical labor force. French policy is more likely to support the individual graduate student directly through a national grant, while graduate students in the US tend to rely indirectly on federal support through research grants to other researchers. We then use duration models on individual data to predict entry into a permanent academic position within three years of completing a Ph.D. We do not find that industrial support of graduate training has any effect on later success in obtaining a position. There is, however, evidence of different academic labor markets operating in each country. In France, entry into a position has not depended on period factors, while in the US more recent cohorts have been more successful in obtaining permanent employment. Furthermore, postdoctoral positions in France delay or deter academic careers, but have no impact on entry in the US: this suggest that two different modes of scientific human resources management operate in France and in the USA. In the USA, Ph.D.s are seen as an essential element in the process of knowledge transfer, and early mobility does not affect entry into permanent academic careers. In France, few incentives are given to encourage mobility, which merely deters the access to permanent jobs. Finally, we found that graduates of the most prestigious undergraduate institutions were systematically advantaged in obtaining permanent academic employment, suggesting that academic stratification occurs very early in the training path in each country.
AB - The economic health of nations and regions is increasingly coming to rest on the scientific and technical labor force conducting scientific research. As such, enormous social resources are directed to educating and training those who will fire the engines of economic growth. In the first part of this paper, we compare recent investment in the scientific and technical labor forces by two giants of nationally-supported research endeavors: France and the United States. We find that France is more invested in scientific and technical training, but that both nations invest directly and indirectly in the scientific and technical labor force. French policy is more likely to support the individual graduate student directly through a national grant, while graduate students in the US tend to rely indirectly on federal support through research grants to other researchers. We then use duration models on individual data to predict entry into a permanent academic position within three years of completing a Ph.D. We do not find that industrial support of graduate training has any effect on later success in obtaining a position. There is, however, evidence of different academic labor markets operating in each country. In France, entry into a position has not depended on period factors, while in the US more recent cohorts have been more successful in obtaining permanent employment. Furthermore, postdoctoral positions in France delay or deter academic careers, but have no impact on entry in the US: this suggest that two different modes of scientific human resources management operate in France and in the USA. In the USA, Ph.D.s are seen as an essential element in the process of knowledge transfer, and early mobility does not affect entry into permanent academic careers. In France, few incentives are given to encourage mobility, which merely deters the access to permanent jobs. Finally, we found that graduates of the most prestigious undergraduate institutions were systematically advantaged in obtaining permanent academic employment, suggesting that academic stratification occurs very early in the training path in each country.
KW - France
KW - Scientific and technical human capital
KW - Scientific labor force
KW - Scientific research
KW - United States
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=2542422961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=2542422961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.respol.2004.01.005
DO - 10.1016/j.respol.2004.01.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:2542422961
SN - 0048-7333
VL - 33
SP - 569
EP - 581
JO - Research Policy
JF - Research Policy
IS - 4
ER -