Influence of government-funded postdoctoral fellowships on tenure-track appointments of scholars in the social sciences and humanities

This study aims to investigate whether a government-funded postdoctoral fellowship improves the chances of being selected for a tenure-track faculty position in the social sciences and humanities in South Korea. Data on new scholars applying for government-funded postdoctoral fellowships in 2011–2013 were used to compare the likelihood of tenure-track appointments for recipients and non-recipients of fellowships. The results of the propensity score matching and logistic regression analysis revealed that recipients in the field of social sciences were approximately 1.29 times more likely to be in tenure-track positions 4–6 years after their fellowship compared with non-recipients. However, this positive effect was not observed for recipients in the humanities. The study suggested policy recommendations on the basis of these results.