Research-mobility and job-stability: is there a trade-off?

This article analyzes the effect of international job-mobility on career success measured by obtaining an open-ended contract or tenure-track position. We use an original database that covers experienced researchers in ten European countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. We develop a taxonomy of research-mobility and analyze its impact on the probability of holding a permanent position, controlling for individual and job characteristics as well as national effects. Our analysis confirms that international mobility impacts on career consolidation. In particular, those who move several times, unless they are more productive than their peers, are the least likely to consolidate their career. The country effects indicate that the career of researchers and academic labor markets differ substantially within Europe, with Polish, German and Spanish researchers being the least likely to consolidate their career in the long-term.

MARINELLI Elisabetta;  ELENA PÉREZ Susana;  FERNANDEZ-ZUBIETA Ana; 

2014-01-24

http://www.euspri-madrid2013.org

JRC85754

978-84-695-7408-9,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC85754,