Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/328213 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18083
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper examines how publication-based tenure-track systems affect the careers of Ph.D. graduates in Economics. We leverage a 2010 reform in Italy that replaced open-ended assistant professor (AP) positions with fixed-term contracts and introduced publication minimum requirements for career advancement. Using survey and administrative data, along with a Difference-in-Differences Event-Study approach comparing Economics to less academicallyoriented fields, we find that the reform significantly reduced the likelihood of Economics Ph.D. graduates entering academia in Italy, while increasing transitions to academic careers abroad or to public and private sector jobs. Talented graduates were disproportionately affected, revealing negative selection into Italian academia following the removal of permanent AP positions. Despite these trends, tenure-track hires tend to publish more in high-ranking journals, suggesting that the reform's incentive effects may partly mitigate its negative selection effects.
Subjects: 
academic careers
fertility
publications
tenure
JEL: 
I23
J13
J24
J71
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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