Catching Up or Falling Behind? Promising Changes and Persistent Patterns Across Cohorts of Economics PhDs in German-Speaking Countries from 1991 to 2008

We investigate economics PhDs minted at German, Austrian, and Swiss universities from 1991 to 2008. We find that cohort sizes increased overall, and the share of PhDs who publish in a peer-reviewed journal within six years after graduation increased from 18% in 1991 to 46% in 2008. Publishing rates are heterogeneous across departments. Younger cohorts publish slightly more compared to older cohorts, but these publications are not significantly better in terms of quality. Publication productivity is highly skewed within and between departments. A key difference between PhDs of the German-speaking area and North America lies in their patterns of collaboration