Laudeline Auriol

Labour Market Characteristics and International Mobility of Doctorate Holders

This paper presents the first results of a project initiated in 2004 by the OECD in collaboration with Eurostat and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and aimed at developing a regular and internationally comparable production system of indicators on the careers and mobility of doctorate holders. A first data collection was launched in September 2005, from which the results for seven countries are presented here. These data shed light on the main demographic, educational, labour market and mobility patterns of doctoral graduates. They also mark some progress in the understanding of both...

Measuring S&T activities in the Former Socialist Economies of Central and Eastern Europe: Conceptual and methodological issues in linking past with present

The economic and social transformation of countries of central and eastern Europe has deeply affected their S&T systems. However, conceptual and methodological problems in monitoring transformation of their S&T systems are not trivial. In this paper we analyse conceptual and methodological issues involved in measuring S&T activities in the socialist and post-socialist period across the most important S&T indicators (R&D, US and national patents; innovation surveys; bibliometrics). Our conclusions are that: i) the process of methodological harmonisation of S&T indicators has progressed considerably and we have provided some evidence in that respect; ii) the use of similar or identical indicators (business R&D, innovation counts, patents, citations) when making inter-country or inter-temporal comparisons should be approached with caution because of the significant differences between the socialist and post-socialist periods as well as between post-socialist R&D systems and R&D in other market economies. This latter applies especially to the interpretation of business R&D data in the post-socialist period.

Doctorate Holders’ Labor Market and Mobility: The Academic Career as the First Choice

Doctoral graduates account for a relatively small proportion of the overall population but their importance is widely recognised (OECD 2010). Having benefitted from highly specialised research training and produced an original contribution to science, doctorate holders are expected to play a key role in the knowledge economy as they stand in a position to drive forward advances in science, technology and knowledge about society. Evidence on the careers of doctorate holders (CDH) and their contribution to science, innovation and the economy is of high relevance not only to policy decision makers and governments who finance the training of this group of individuals and support their integration in the innovation system; but also to prospective employers in search of specific skills for their workforce; and the individuals themselves who consider whether to pursue doctorate studies and proceed with research or unrelated careers. This paper provides an overview of the key statistical and analytical findings that draw on data from the second international CDH data collection conducted in 2010, as well as some complementary sources. Box 1 provides further details on this project.

PhD Holders: The Labor Market and International Mobility

The paper considers the first results of a project initiated in 2004 by the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in collaboration with the Statistics Department of the European Commission (Eurostat) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The purpose of the study is to develop a system of internationally comparable indicators to assess the level of professional development and mobility of doctorate holders. The first selection of information was produced in 2005 by seven countries. These data reflected the demographic and educational structure of the contingent of doctorate holders, particularly their employment, the demand on the labor market.

Rethinking the Doctoral Degrees in the Changing Labor Market Context

Science, technology and innovation (STI) are important drivers of economic development and of social welfare at both national and global levels. It is widely recognized that the education and qualification of the labor force is crucial for scientific achievements, technological breakthroughs and innovation excellence. Thus, ensuring the training and education of a high quality labor force has become a central issue for policy makers. It used to be and it is still assumed that the population of researchers considerably drives scientific and innovation output. Lately, the inclusion of quantities of tertiary-level graduates and of new doctoral graduates in the development of composite national innovation indicators such as the Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS) and the Global Innovation Index (GII) has become standard to assess the innovation capacities of the countries. In the first instance the basic number of tertiary-level graduates was considered a reasonable indicator, but the focus has also switched to the number of doctorate holders. These indicators have raised the attention of policy makers, and as a consequence, numerous initiatives in different countries at the global level have been implemented to increase the quantity of tertiary-level graduates and of doctorate holders (Dance 2013; Cyranoski et al. 2011). It is widely believed that the knowledge economy requires an ever larger quantity of highly qualified people. Yet, the latter is commonly associated with that holding academic degrees (Cyranoski et al. 2011), which in some way may be debatable. Vocational training for example does usually not involve tertiary education but remains a strongly targeted form of education for supplying specialists in both so-called ‘blue collar’ and ‘white collar’ positions. While it is important to understand the value of tertiary-level and doctorate degrees for research and innovation, which is the focus of this book, one should not lose sight of the overall competences that are needed for these activities.

The Careers of Doctorate Holders (CDH): Principles for Broad International Surveys—The CDH Example

Highly educated and skilled people are central to the creation, commercialisation and diffusion of knowledge. Among them, doctorate holders are both the most qualified in terms of educational attainment and those who have been trained to conduct research. Their contribution to the advancement of knowledge is therefore of particular interest to practitioners in charge of steering research and innovation systems. While regarded as essential in a knowledge-based and complex economy, the training of doctoral graduates and researchers is also a long and costly effort. Since 2000, doctoral awards have increased at the same pace as, or even slightly more rapidly than other degree awards. Measuring the return on investment of such long education and training has drawn policy attention. Generic statistical sources on human resources, such as censuses and labor force surveys, are however not fit to provide a full picture of the employment patterns and the contribution of doctorate holders. It is with this in mind that the OECD launched a collaborative project with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and Eurostat in 2004 that aims to address the evidence gaps about this population group and develop internationally comparable indicators on the labor market, career path and mobility of doctorate holders.