Current evidence on the prospective decline of the labor market for Ph.D.'s is examined. Focus is on the effects of the decline in academic hiring in the quality and quantity of scholarship and research. After an introduction to the problem, the second chapter summarizes the evidence on the impending decline, maintaining that (1) research is a public good, (2) falling university enrollments will lead to fewer jobs in academe which will harm research and scholarship (and higher education generally), (3) universities cannot respond effectively, and, therefore, (4) governmental intervention is warranted. Chapter Three considers the nature of university research as a public good. The effects of reduced academic hiring, including numbers, quality, decline in research, and loss of young scholars, are surveyed in the fourth chapter. Chapter Five evaluates the arguments concerning the inability of universities to adjust optimally to the decline. The final chapter reviews alternative interventions, such as improving admissions procedures, supporting graduate students, creating more jobs in academe, and funding more research. (Author/PHR)