Occupational outcomes of PhD graduates in Northern Italy

The paper studies the occupational outcomes of the PhDs from three Northern Italian universities. First, it shows that the number of PhDs awarded in Italy has increased more than the demand for PhD holders: it can be hypothesized, then, that PhD holders will front increasing difficulties in finding a job related to their training. By means of multinomial logistic models, the paper then analyzes the probability for PhD holders to get a research job, inside or outside the University. Furthermore, their wages are studied by means of linear regression models. Results show that the university remains the main occupational outcome for PhDs, especially in social sciences and in the humanities. However, wage returns are larger for those PhDs who are employed outside the university, both in research and in the professions.