Collaborative Research: SES 98-1320 Innovation Personnel and their Ecosystem: Career Choices and Trajectories of Scientists - Industry or Academia and Basic or Applied?

在学术和行业范围内进行的基础科学和应用科学的持续进步，推动了美国经济的活力。在这些关键的宏观(机构和国家政策)层面的因素背后，是科学家自己做出的个人决定，因为他们在与他们所从事的职业相关的职业选择中做出选择：基础科学或应用科学；以及他们从事这项工作的地方：学术界或工业界。了解这些微观层面的因素对于制定个人职业战略、增强公司和大学的竞争力以及设计合理的经济政策是必要的。本提案研究了与科学劳动力市场有关的影响制度和政策问题的微观因素。它的前提是，通过建立适当的激励结构，使科学家在学术或行业环境中与基础科学和/或应用科学的职业实现最佳匹配，可以最好地实现与实现基础和应用研究的最佳水平有关的社会目标。这项研究开发了新的理论模型，这些模型建立在匹配、人力资本和内生增长理论的基础上，并利用国家科学基金会开发的科学家和工程师统计数据系统(SESTAT)对理工科学士和博士毕业生的面板数据进行了新的经验证据。智力优势：这项研究提供了一个新的框架，通过结合匹配模型和人力资本模型来确定偏好、能力、工作特征和机构设置在职业选择中的角色，以及科学家的职业轨迹。个人和制度特征的相互作用被明确地输入一个模型并进行经验检验，以了解其对个人选择和绩效以及对整个市场或经济的影响。这项研究还通过强调基础科学和应用科学之间的互动和协同作用，为内生经济增长模型提供了新的视角和新的微观基础。特别是，研究中的框架有助于确定线性模型未能认识到的经济增长来源。更广泛的影响：这项研究为正在从事替代职业并寻求与他人合作或获得自己互补技能的现有和未来的科学家提供了信息。它向大学和公司通报基础科学和应用科学之间协同增效的来源，并帮助它们设计吸引和留住创新人员以及获取科学利益的激励计划和体制安排。

The dynamism of the U.S. economy has been fueled with continued advances in basic and applied science, conducted within both academic and industry boundaries. Underlying these critical macro (institutional and national policy) level factors are individual decisions made by the scientists themselves, as they choose among careers options that relate to what they do: basic or applied science; and where they do it: academia or industry. An understanding of these micro level factors is necessary to formulate an individual career strategy, to strengthen the competitiveness of both firms and universities and to design sound economic policiesThis proposal examines the micro factors related to scientific labor markets that influence institutional and policy issues. It is based on the premise that societal goals related to achieving an optimal level of basic and applied research can be best achieved by creating the appropriate incentive structure that provides for an optimal matching of scientists to careers in basic and/or applied science, within academic or industry settings. The research develops new theoretical models that build on matching, human capital and endogenous growth theory, and new empirical evidence using panel data on baccalaureate and doctoral graduates in science and engineering fields from Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT) developed by the NSF. Intellectual merit: The research provides a new framework to identify roles of preference, ability, job characteristics, and institutional settings in career choices and the career trajectory of scientists by combining a matching model and a human capital model. The interaction of individual and institutional characteristics is explicitly entered into a model and empirically tested to understand its impacts on individual choices and performances as well as on the entire market or economy. The research also offers new perspectives and a new micro-foundation for endogenous economic growth models by emphasizing interactions and synergies between basic and applied science. In particular, the framework in the research helps identify sources of economic growth that the linear model has failed to recognize. Broader impacts: The research informs existing and prospective scientists embarking on alternative careers and seeking collaborations with others or acquiring their own complementary skills. It informs universities and firms of sources of synergies between basic and applied science, and helps them design an incentive scheme and an institutional arrangement for attracting and retaining innovative personnel, as well as extracting the benefits of science.