International mobility of Spanish doctorate-holders: What determinants matters?

While science and technology systems are deeply changing in Spain to a more open-based organization, international mobility showed by Spanish doctorate-holders are dramatically increasing. Taking into account this context, article pursuits two objectives. First, we would like to know which factors are mainly explaining the decisions supporting theses abroad mobility processes, paying a special attention to gender and academic career organization. Second, we try to find out why Spanish-doctorate holders differ in term of the intensity of their international mobility. To get it, several econometric models (probit and ordered probit) through Spanish Survey of Human Resources in Science and Technology of 2009 (HRST-2009) have been estimated, checking how personal, academic and labour traits affect these decisions. Outcomes point out that abroad mobility of Spanish PhD plays a role like initial condition in order to develop a academic career. Gender differences are also observed against woman, who faces more difficulties compared with man to undertake this kind of human capital investment.