Fast Track or Failure : A Study of the Graduation and Dropout Rates of Ph.D. Students in Economics

We analyze the production process of Ph.Ds in economics in the Netherlands. Our empirical results are consistent with the incentives that the actors in this process face. Universities succeed in making students who are unlikely to graduate or will need a long time to graduate quit the program. Supervisors who are active researchers have higher graduation and lower dropout rates. This effect is due to the fact that active researchers attract better students. There is no evidence of an independent effect of having a supervisor who is an active researcher