Department of Management and Quantitative Studies University of Naples “Parthenope” (Italy)

1. Doctorate Holders in Italy: Fields of Study and Career Paths Gennaro PUNZO and Antonella ROCCA BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION High levels of education improve human capital, foster economic development, promote occupability and reduce labour market mismatches fostering an independent habit of mind through the furthering of independent research capacities that enable PhD graduates to create new knowledge and conduct research in the field of their choice (UNESCO, 2006) AIMS AT attracting talented minds and developing their ability to act as major agents of creativity, innovation, knowledge transfer and problem solving in order to contribute to the progress of the wider society (LERU, 2007) Doctoral Education (Third cycle of the Bologna process) training tomorrow’s knowledge workers in the light of three principles: INTERNATIONALITY – INTERDISCIPLINARITY – INTERSECTORALITY (European Commission, 2010) TO INVESTIGATE THE RELEVANCE (FORMAL AND SUBSTANTIAL) OF PHD EDUCATION IN ITALY AND THE QUALITY OF THE RESEARCH-TRAINING PROCESS AIM OF THE WORK EFFECTIVELY SOCIETY RECEIVES APPROPRIATE AND NECESSARY COMPETENCIES? IS THE PhD DEGREE REQUIRED TO ACCESS WORK? PRELIMINARY STATISTICS Department of Management and Quantitative Studies University of Naples “Parthenope” (Italy) ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS SOCIAL PHYSICS LAW HUMANITIES LIFE SCIENCES ENGINEERING A clear divide existsbetween the North and the South/East Europe (except for Portugal) In Italy, the share of PhD holders (with a gap in favour of females) isstillbelow the EU-27 average DATA SOURCE AND METHODOLOGY: A PROBIT MODEL FOR DOCTORATE RELEVANCE The analysis draws upon the 2009 Survey on Doctorate Holders’ Vocational Integration which aims at detecting the employment conditions of PhD graduates (5 and 3 years after graduation) and subjective opinions about the relevance of their doctoral experience and degree The probability that the ith doctorate holder has proved relevant (formal and substantial) with the attained job is formulated in the cumulative standard logistic probability distribution function: where the LATENT variable (y*), that is connected with the relative advantage to obtain a job coherent with the PhD degree, is supposed to be linearly related to the observed x’s through the structural model (Long, 1997): MAIN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE CAREER OUTSIDE UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC CAREER INTERNATIONALITATION + BEING YOUNGER DOCTORATE HOLDERS Sub-nationalperspective Proxiex of efficiency of PhD production ScientificSectors as crucial ways of improving efficiency of PhD production process, both for academic and not-academic careers Proxiex of quality of the research and training process • Doctoraterelevanceisdirectlyrelated to the quality of courseportfolios (i.e., researchschools, teaching, experienceabroad) • Evidence of differentpatternsbetweengenders in labour marketsexist (discrimination?) • Differentscientificareas denote differentrelevance for PhD holders • Doctorateseems to be more relevant for lessremuneratedjobs • Relevanceishigher for the Economic and Juridicareas (ref. humanities) • No significantterritorial divide exists • Spending a periodabroad and gettingexperience of working in internationalresearchcommunities are intrinsicallyvaluableprocesses • References • European Commission (2010), Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative Innovation Union • (http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/pdf/innovation-union-communication_en.pdf) • League of European Research Universities (2007), Doctoral studies in Europe: excellence in researcher training, LERU • Long J. Scott (1997), Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables. London: Sage Publications • UNESCO (2006), Form Follows Function – Comparing Doctoral Training in Europe and North America, German Rectors Conference and Unesco-CEPES