Training and Careers of French Mathematicians: A Typical Model of Excellence?

Formations et carrières mathématiques en France: un modèle typique d'excellence ?

Pierre-Michel Menger (), Colin Marchika, Yann Renisio () and Pierre Verschueren ()
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Pierre-Michel Menger: CESTA - Centre de sociologie du travail et des arts - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Collège de France - Chaire Sociologie du travail créateur - CdF (institution) - Collège de France
Colin Marchika: EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales
Yann Renisio: CMH - Centre Maurice Halbwachs - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Département de Sciences sociales ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Uppsala University, Collège de France - Chaire Sociologie du travail créateur - CdF (institution) - Collège de France
Pierre Verschueren: CLF - Centre Lucien Febvre (UR 2273) - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE], IHMC - Institut d'histoire moderne et contemporaine - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE]

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Abstract: The excellence of French mathematics has long been recognized. This remarkable position is explained by certain classical factors, such as the selective tests for training and talent recruitment, but their effect is more precocious and cumulative than in the other sciences. The culture of playful and competitive challenge that nourishes the history of conjecture and problem solving, in this individualistic discipline detached from empirical work, has its organizational side : competition for jobs is more open and opposed to inbreeding, and the advantage initially gained through pure research jobs is not systematically exploited to keep the best mathematicians away from teaching. These traits adhere as a system, but do they also act to create competitive dynamics that penalize female careers, which are particularly under-represented ? Our analysis is based on a vast corpus of career and publication data, which is unparalleled to date.

Keywords: Mathématiques; carrières; universités; CNRS; agrégation; doctorat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-10
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03010492v1
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Published in Revue Française d'Economie, 2020, pp.155-217. ⟨10.3917/rfe.202.0155⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03010492

DOI: 10.3917/rfe.202.0155

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