Abstract: Doctoral students in the field of economics and management funded by Chinese Scholarship Council(CSC) are selected as the samples of the experimental group, and the Propensity Score Matching method is used to find the control group of individuals without international mobility experience. Based on this, logistic regression models are developed to systematically evaluate the impact of international mobility on the early career development of researchers, focusing on three dimensions: prestige of initial employing institution, early promotion to senior title, and acquisition of scientific fundings. The study finds that international mobility significantly increases the likelihood of researchers obtaining initial positions at prestigious institutions, accelerates their promotion to senior titles, and speeds up their access to scientific scientific fundings in early career stages. The positive effects are stronger for male researchers, but females also benefit significantly. For graduates from 985 universities, international mobility plays a stronger role in facilitating their initial employment at prestigious institutions and early promotion to senior titles, while for those from non-985 institutions, international mobility is more effective in accelerating the acquisition of national-level scientific fundings in early career stages. Long-term international mobility experiences (over 12 months) are significantly more beneficial for researchers’early career development than short-term mobility.

Key words: International mobility, Career development, Scientometrics, Scientific and technological evaluation, Researchers