The Effect of PhD Funding on Postdegree Research Career and Publication Productivity

This paper explores the extent to which PhD funding encourages postdegree research career and leads to publications. Using novel data on Italian PhD graduates, I find positive modest effects of funding both on pursuing a research career and on publication productivity within a few years after graduation. The results are robust to a battery of checks and different model specifications. I also provide evidence that funded students invest more in research-oriented activities and spend less time on outside (non-research) work during the PhD, thus highlighting mechanisms that potentially account for the effect of funding.