Postdoctoral mobility and returnees' careers in Italian academia

This paper investigates the relationship between international postdoctoral stays and academic career advancement among researchers returning to the Italian university system. Using a unique dataset of Italian PhD holders observed over a 30-year period, we analyze how international postdoctoral stays are associated with two key career outcomes: (i) the time between PhD completion and first appointment as Assistant Professor ( time-to-entry ), and (ii) the time between Assistant Professor appoint