From the article: "That is because increased government research funding from the US National Institutes of Health and Japan's science and education ministry ha

From the article: "That is because increased government research funding from the US National Institutes of Health and Japan's science and education ministry has driven expansion of doctoral and postdoctoral education without giving enough thought to how the labour market will accommodate those who emerge." I think this is SPOT ON. I'm surprised this doesn't come up more often. You can add Canada to the list. Universities are given $$$ (and this is in CDN funds so you know it is worth something) for the number of PhD students that graduate their program. While this policy certainly increases the number of PhDs, it doesn't do anything to help them get jobs afterwards. I felt this led to a odd situation in recent years. Smart kids in their Masters program realized that it wasn't the best use of their time to get a PhD. They got out. The people who are left either really wanted the PhD (for its own sake or to teach or were simply exceptional scientists), people who were using it to further immigration goals, and the not-so-smart kids.