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The sorcerer’s postdoc apprentice: uncertain funding and contingent highly skilled labour

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  • Jennifer M. Miller
  • Maryann P. Feldman

Abstract

Postdoctoral scholars may be economic complements or substitutes for faculty, doctoral research assistants and capital in the production of university life science research. Using data on 120 US universities, we present two cross-sectional (1993 and 2006) descriptive econometric models. Results suggest that postdocs serve primarily as complements to other labour inputs and capital. These relationships are potentially a source of concern to science policy makers because misperception and misallocation of complementary inputs is more costly than that of substitute inputs and may result in fragile and unstable systems. This instability is costly for individuals in the scientific workforce and poses a threat to the continued productivity and innovation of academic research.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer M. Miller & Maryann P. Feldman, 2014. "The sorcerer’s postdoc apprentice: uncertain funding and contingent highly skilled labour," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 7(2), pages 289-305.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cjrecs:v:7:y:2014:i:2:p:289-305.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cjres/rsu003
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    Cited by:

    1. Carolina Cañibano & Richard Woolley & Eric J. Iversen & Sybille Hinze & Stefan Hornbostel & Jakob Tesch, 2019. "A conceptual framework for studying science research careers," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 1964-1992, December.
    2. Kenney, Martin & Patton, Donald, 2015. "Gender, ethnicity and entrepreneurship in initial public offerings: illustrations from an open database," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 1773-1784.
    3. Kevin M. Kniffin & Andrew S. Hanks, 2017. "Antecedents and near-term consequences for interdisciplinary dissertators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(3), pages 1225-1250, June.
    4. Santos, João M. & Horta, Hugo & Heitor, Manuel, 2016. "Too many PhDs? An invalid argument for countries developing their scientific and academic systems: The case of Portugal," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 352-362.

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