Working Paper: NBER ID: w21995
Authors: Pierre Azoulay; Ina Ganguli; Joshua S. Graff Zivin
Abstract: As scientists’ careers unfold, mobility can allow researchers to find environments where they are more productive and more effectively contribute to the generation of new knowledge. In this paper, we examine the determinants of mobility of elite academics within the life sciences, including individual productivity measures and for the first time, measures of the peer environment and family factors. Using a unique data set compiled from the career histories of 10,004 elite life scientists in the U.S., we paint a nuanced picture of mobility. Prolific scientists are more likely to move, but this impulse is constrained by recent NIH funding. The quality of peer environments both near and far is an additional factor that influences mobility decisions. Interestingly, we also identify a significant role for family structure. Scientists appear to be unwilling to move when their children are between the ages of 14-17, which is when US children are typically enrolled in middle school or high school. This suggests that even elite scientists find it costly to disrupt the social networks of their children and take these costs into account when making career decisions.
Keywords: mobility; elite scientists; productivity; peer environment; family factors
JEL Codes: J12; J62; O31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| high transaction costs associated with transferring federal research funding (I23) | likelihood of moving to a new academic position (J62) |
| strong local peer environment (C92) | likelihood of moving to a new academic position (J62) |
| higher individual productivity (O49) | likelihood of moving to a new academic position (J62) |
| recent NIH funding (I23) | likelihood of moving to a new academic position (J62) |
| quality of the peer environment (C92) | likelihood of moving to a new academic position (J62) |
| having children in high school (J13) | likelihood of moving to a new academic position (J62) |