The Link from Graduate Education in Economics to the Labor Market.

This article discusses the links between the doctor of philosophy degree labor market and graduate education in the U.S. While individual economists have examined particular dimensions of doctorate job market, the profession as a group have given relatively little attention to a labor market it is uniquely situated to study. The study of academic labor markets is natural area of inquiry for many labor economists. Economists are plugged into labor markets data and know how to use them to good effect. Many economists are skilled in gathering through survey questionnaires data. In addition, economists as a group demonstrate an ever-growing interest in the economics and the sociology of the profession. However, a key problem has been the lack of strong interest by the American Economic Association in encouraging such investigations. As a result, individuals have had to proceed on their own. On the other hand, research on the labor market imperfections that could be remedied through the actions of individual departments and advanced graduate students about to enter the labor market. Equally important, such research could pinpoint ways of improving the education and training of future doctorate graduates.