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Researchers’ mobility and its impact on scientific productivity"

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This article analyses the impact of mobility on researchers’ productivity. We address the relationship by developing a theoretical framework based on the job-matching approach for academics and the idea that productivity is driven by capital availability and peer effects. The empirical analysis is based on the entire careers of a sample of 171 UK academic researchers, spanning from 1957 to 2005. We analyse the impact of job changes on post mobility output in 3 and 6 year periods. Contrary to common wisdom, we do not find evidence that mobility per se increases academic performance. Mobility to better departments has a positive but weakly significant impact while downward mobility results in decreasing researchers’ productivity. Once we control for mobility associated with career progress, the results indicate significant strong positive impact for mobility to higher quality department. We estimated a set of alternative specifications of mobility finding evidence of an increase of productivity for mobility from industry to academia but only after an initial negative effect. In most cases mobility is associated with short-term decrease of productivity due to hypothesised adjustment costs.

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  • Fernández-Zubieta, Ana & Geuna, Aldo & Lawson, Cornelia, 2013. "Researchers’ mobility and its impact on scientific productivity"," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201313, University of Turin.
  • Handle: RePEc:uto:dipeco:201313
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    Cited by:

    1. Hartwig, Jochen, 2015. "Structural change, aggregate demand and employment dynamics in the OECD, 1970–2010," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 36-45.
    2. Broström, Anders, 2019. "Academic breeding grounds: Home department conditions and early career performance of academic researchers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1647-1665.
    3. Lawson, Cornelia & Geuna, Aldo & Ana Fernández-Zubieta & Toselli, Manuel & Kataishi, Rodrigo, 2015. "International Careers of Researchers in Biomedical Sciences: A Comparison of the US and the UK," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201514, University of Turin.
    4. Geuna, Aldo & Kataishi, Rodrigo & Toselli, Manuel & Guzmán, Eduardo & Lawson, Cornelia & Fernandez-Zubieta, Ana & Barros, Beatriz, 2015. "SiSOB data extraction and codification: A tool to analyze scientific careers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 1645-1658.
    5. 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.
    6. Valentina Tartari & Francesco Di Lorenzo & Benjamin A. Campbell, 2020. "“Another roof, another proof”: the impact of mobility on individual productivity in science," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 276-303, February.
    7. Lawson, Cornelia & Geuna, Aldo & Finardi, Ugo, 2021. "The funding-productivity-gender nexus in science, a multistage analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(3).
    8. Song Jing & Pengxin Xie & Qun Yin & Qingzhao Ma & Celestine Chinedu Ogbu & Xia Guo & Daniel M. J. J. Stanley & Leuta Philatelic Tutaia, 2023. "The effect of academic mobility on research performance: the case of China," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(10), pages 5829-5850, October.
    9. Laudel, Grit & Bielick, Jana, 2019. "How do field-specific research practices affect mobility decisions of early career researchers?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    10. Asli Ebru Şanlitürk & Samin Aref & Emilio Zagheni & Francesco C. Billari, 2022. "Homecoming after Brexit: evidence on academic migration from bibliometric data," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-019, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    11. Baruffaldi, Stefano H. & Marino, Marianna & Visentin, Fabiana, 2020. "Money to move: The effect on researchers of an international mobility grant," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(8).
    12. Scellato, Giuseppe & Franzoni, Chiara & Stephan, Paula, 2015. "Migrant scientists and international networks," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 108-120.
    13. Azoulay, Pierre & Ganguli, Ina & Graff Zivin, Joshua, 2017. "The mobility of elite life scientists: Professional and personal determinants," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 573-590.
    14. Llopis,Ãscar & Azagra-Caro,Joaquín M., 2015. "Who do you care about? Scientistsâ personality traits and perceived beneficiary impact," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201503, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 12 Jan 2018.
    15. Chang, Ying-Han & Huang, Mu-Hsuan, 2023. "Analysis of factors affecting scientific migration move and distance by academic age, migrant type, and country: Migrant researchers in the field of business and management," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1).
    16. Cheng Peng & Zhepeng (Lionel) Li & Chaojiang Wu, 2023. "Researcher geographic mobility and publication productivity: an investigation into individual and institutional characteristics and the roles of academicians," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(1), pages 379-406, January.
    17. Tolga Yuret, 2020. "Co-worker network: How closely are researchers who published in the top five economics journals related?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(3), pages 2301-2317, September.
    18. Thomas Bolli & Jörg Schläpfer, 2015. "Job mobility, peer effects, and research productivity in economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(3), pages 629-650, September.
    19. Liu, Meijun & Hu, Xiao, 2021. "Will collaborators make scientists move? A Generalized Propensity Score analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
    20. Fernandez-Zubieta, Ana & Geuna, Aldo & Lawson, Cornelia, 2015. "What do We Know of the Mobility of Research Scientists and of its Impact on Scientific Production," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201522, University of Turin.
    21. Hanna Hottenrott & Cornelia Lawson, 2017. "A first look at multiple institutional affiliations: a study of authors in Germany, Japan and the UK," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(1), pages 285-295, April.
    22. Liu, Meijun & Hu, Xiao, 2022. "Movers’ advantages: The effect of mobility on scientists’ productivity and collaboration," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    23. Liyin Zhang & Yuchen Qian & Chao Ma & Jiang Li, 2023. "Continued collaboration shortens the transition period of scientists who move to another institution," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(3), pages 1765-1784, March.
    24. Han, Fang & Zhang, Ruhao & Zhang, Shengtai & Yuan, Junpeng, 2024. "International mobility characteristics, effects of, and effects on elite scientists," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1).

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