Human resource policies in the scientific sector: Comparative analysis across selected countries
Keywords:
human resource policy, scientific workforce, comparative institutional analysis, research careers, MongoliaAbstract
Human resource (HR) policies shape the capacity of scientific systems to attract, develop, and retain researchers. This study compares scientific-sector HR policies in the United States, Germany, South Korea, China, India, Finland, and Mongolia through a structured qualitative document analysis. Official strategies, agency reports, legislation, and selected scholarly literature were reviewed and coded against an adapted Institutional Human Resource Management (IHRM) framework comprising four dimensions: talent acquisition and recruitment; capacity building and development; retention and career progression; and governance and institutional support. Evidence was organized in a country-by-dimension matrix and examined through descriptive coding, cross-case comparison, and contextual interpretation. Unlike earlier work that has concentrated mainly on research funding and national innovation outputs, this study focuses on the institutional HR policy arrangements that connect recruitment, researcher development, careers, and governance. The comparison indicates that Finland, Germany, and South Korea combine relatively coherent coordination mechanisms with sustained development support and more structured career pathways. China and India demonstrate rapid expansion but also tensions associated with output-oriented incentives, institutional variation, and fragmented implementation. The United States combines a decentralized system with strong agency and institutional capacity.
Mongolia, the focal policy case, shows its most consequential weakness in governance and institutional support, which constrains the other three IHRM dimensions. The study recommends a sequenced reform agenda beginning with national coordination and an operational scientific-workforce HR framework, followed by transparent career pathways, stable capacity-development funding, and mobility mechanisms adapted to Mongolia’s institutional and fiscal context.
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