What Explains Science's Expanded Reliance On Postdoctoral Researchers?

Joshua Rosenbloom ()

ISU General Staff Papers from Iowa State University, Department of Economics

Abstract: Between 1979 and 2019 the number of postdoctoral researchers in the U.S. increased approximately four-fold, substantially outpacing growth in the numbers of graduate students and faculty at U.S. universities. This paper argues that the increased reliance on postdocs within the scientific workforce reflects the uncoordinated nature of science funding. While support for faculty and growth in their numbers largely reflects changes in undergraduate enrollments, the number of postdocs responds primarily to changes in the level of federal R&D funding. This argument is developed based on a review of aggregate data and past studies in combination with new evidence drawn from newly available data by discipline at the university level, which allows analysis of differences in reliance on post-docs across different fields of scholarship as well as the relationship of postdocs, faculty, funding and scientific productivity across institutions.

Date: 2022-09-22
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