Did referent credentials really help in the placement of Ph.D. candidates on the job market? Evidence with Covid-19?

The growing mismatch between the number of PhDs awarded and the number of academic jobs opening creates a limited career prospects for candidates from low-ranking universities. This paper collects rich data on the 2020-2021 cohort of PhD candidates in economics to investigate the role of referents in the outcome of the job market. Candidates referred by middle- and low- ranking scholars performed better on the job market and were placed in public/private institutions and academia, respectively. Contrary to previous studies, most candidates recommended by high-quality scholars did not get a job, which I explain by the decline in availability of academic jobs for which high-profile referents and elite schools could prevail. However, referent credential is statistically higher in the group of PhDs placed in faculty positions than in the group of those placed in private/public institutions. The prevailing significant determinants of academic job placement are peer-reviewed publications and journal refereeing.