IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecmode/v89y2020icp32-42.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International talent inflow and R&D investment: Firm-level evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Wei, Hao
  • Yuan, Ran
  • Zhao, Laixun

Abstract

Using firm-level R&D data with regional international talent data, we find that international talent increases the R&D investment of Chinese manufacturing firms, a result that is further confirmed with patent data and under a number of robustness checks. These findings stem from two mechanisms: international talent boosts human capital accumulation and provides a diversified labor force. Further, the R&D promoting effect is stronger if firms are located in eastern China rather than in other regions, of small and medium-sized rather than large-sized, of domestic ownership rather than foreign ownership. The policy implication is, the introduction of international talent can be a new way to promoting R&D investment, especially for skilled-labor constrained countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei, Hao & Yuan, Ran & Zhao, Laixun, 2020. "International talent inflow and R&D investment: Firm-level evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 32-42.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:89:y:2020:i:c:p:32-42
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2019.09.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999318301275
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econmod.2019.09.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ioannis Bournakis & Dimitris Christopoulos & Sushanta Mallick, 2018. "Knowledge Spillovers And Output Per Worker: An Industry‐Level Analysis For Oecd Countries," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1028-1046, April.
    2. Stuhler, Jan & Jaeger, David & Ruist, Joakim, 2018. "Shift-Share Instruments and the Impact of Immigration," CEPR Discussion Papers 12701, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Ceren Ozgen & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2017. "The elusive effects of workplace diversity on innovation," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96, pages 29-49, March.
    4. Xiaohui Liu & Mike Wright & Igor Filatotchev & Ou Dai & Jiangyong Lu, 2010. "Human mobility and international knowledge spillovers : evidence from high-tech small and medium enterprises in an emerging market," Post-Print hal-02312635, HAL.
    5. Pierpaolo Parrotta & Dario Pozzoli & Mariola Pytlikova, 2014. "The nexus between labor diversity and firm’s innovation," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 303-364, April.
    6. Martins, Pedro S. & Piracha, Matloob & Varejão, José, 2018. "Do immigrants displace native workers? Evidence from matched panel data," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 216-222.
    7. Ufuk Akcigit & John Grigsby & Tom Nicholas, 2017. "Immigration and the Rise of American Ingenuity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 327-331, May.
    8. Jennifer Hunt & Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle, 2010. "How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 31-56, April.
    9. Egger, Peter H. & Erhardt, Katharina & Lassmann, Andrea, 2019. "Immigration and firms’ integration in international production networks," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1-34.
    10. Liu, Qing & Qiu, Larry D., 2016. "Intermediate input imports and innovations: Evidence from Chinese firms' patent filings," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 166-183.
    11. Max Nathan & Neil Lee, 2013. "Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Firm-level Evidence from London," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 89(4), pages 367-394, October.
    12. Borensztein, E. & De Gregorio, J. & Lee, J-W., 1998. "How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?1," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 115-135, June.
    13. Joseph G. Altonji & David Card, 1991. "The Effects of Immigration on the Labor Market Outcomes of Less-skilled Natives," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market, pages 201-234, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. David Card, 2005. "Is the New Immigration Really so Bad?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(507), pages 300-323, November.
    15. Massimiliano Bratti & Chiara Conti, 2018. "The effect of immigration on innovation in Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(7), pages 934-947, July.
    16. Alexander Haupt & Tim Krieger & Thomas Lange, 2016. "Competition for the international pool of talent," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(4), pages 1113-1154, October.
    17. Sushanta K. MALLICK & Ricardo M. SOUSA, 2017. "The skill premium effect of technological change: New evidence from United States manufacturing," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 156(1), pages 113-131, March.
    18. David A. Jaeger, 2007. "Green Cards and the Location Choices of Immigrants in the United States, 1971–2000," Research in Labor Economics, in: Immigration, pages 131-183, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    19. Ceren Ozgen & Cornelius Peters & Annekatrin Niebuhr & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2014. "Does Cultural Diversity of Migrant Employees Affect Innovation?," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48, pages 377-416, September.
    20. Filatotchev, Igor & Liu, Xiaohui & Lu, Jiangyong & Wright, Mike, 2011. "Knowledge spillovers through human mobility across national borders: Evidence from Zhongguancun Science Park in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 453-462, April.
    21. Fassio, Claudio & Montobbio, Fabio & Venturini, Alessandra, 2019. "Skilled migration and innovation in European industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 706-718.
    22. Liu, Xiaohui & Gao, Lan & Lu, Jiangyong & Wei, Yingqi, 2015. "The role of highly skilled migrants in the process of inter-firm knowledge transfer across borders," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 56-68.
    23. Bournakis, Ioannis & Mallick, Sushanta, 2018. "TFP estimation at firm level: The fiscal aspect of productivity convergence in the UK," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 579-590.
    24. Baumann, Julian & Kritikos, Alexander S., 2016. "The link between R&D, innovation and productivity: Are micro firms different?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1263-1274.
    25. John M. Quigley, 1998. "Urban Diversity and Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 127-138, Spring.
    26. Luisa Gagliardi, 2015. "Does skilled migration foster innovative performance? Evidence from British local areas," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 773-794, November.
    27. Tiia Vissak & Xiaotian Zhang, 2014. "Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs’ involvement in internationalization and innovation: Three Canadian cases," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 183-201, June.
    28. Cohen, Wesley M & Klepper, Steven, 1996. "A Reprise of Size and R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 925-951, July.
    29. Tomohara, Akinori, 2017. "Does immigration crowd out foreign direct investment inflows? Tradeoff between contemporaneous FDI-immigration substitution and ethnic network externalities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 40-47.
    30. Chun, Hyunbae & Ha, Joonkyung & Kim, Jung-Wook, 2014. "Firm heterogeneity, R&D, and economic growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 149-156.
    31. Murat, Marina, 2014. "Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind. Education Networks and International Trade," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 53-66.
    32. Baptista, Rui & Swann, Peter, 1998. "Do firms in clusters innovate more?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 525-540, September.
    33. Edo, Anthony & Toubal, Farid, 2017. "Immigration and the gender wage gap," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 196-214.
    34. Chen, Zhiyuan & Zhang, Jie & Zheng, Wenping, 2017. "Import and innovation: Evidence from Chinese firms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 205-220.
    35. Alessandra Faggian & Philip McCann, 2009. "Human capital, graduate migration and innovation in British regions," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 33(2), pages 317-333, March.
    36. David C. Maré & Richard Fabling & Steven Stillman, 2014. "Innovation and the local workforce," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 183-201, March.
    37. Yannu Zheng & Olof Ejermo, 2015. "How do the foreign-born perform in inventive activity? Evidence from Sweden," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(3), pages 659-695, July.
    38. Cuadros, Ana & Martín-Montaner, Joan & Paniagua, Jordi, 2016. "Homeward bound FDI: Are migrants a bridge over troubled finance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 454-465.
    39. Card, David, 2001. "Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 22-64, January.
    40. Barro, Robert J. & Lee, Jong Wha, 2013. "A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 184-198.
    41. Gould, David M, 1994. "Immigrant Links to the Home Country: Empirical Implications for U.S. Bilateral Trade Flows," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(2), pages 302-316, May.
    42. Yan Zhang & Haiyang Li, 2010. "Innovation search of new ventures in a technology cluster: the role of ties with service intermediaries," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 88-109, January.
    43. Jahn, Vera & Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, 2016. "Innovation and immigration — Insights from a placement policy," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 116-119.
    44. Scellato, Giuseppe & Franzoni, Chiara & Stephan, Paula, 2015. "Migrant scientists and international networks," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 108-120.
    45. Annekatrin Niebuhr, 2010. "Migration and innovation: Does cultural diversity matter for regional R&D activity?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 563-585, August.
    46. Gnanaraj Chellaraj & Keith E. Maskus & Aaditya Mattoo, 2008. "The Contribution of International Graduate Students to US Innovation," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 444-462, August.
    47. Zoltan Acs & David Audretsch, 1990. "Innovation and Small Firms," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011131, December.
    48. Bastos, Paulo & Silva, Joana, 2012. "Networks, firms, and trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 352-364.
    49. Ilayda Nemlioglu & Sushanta K. Mallick, 2017. "Do Managerial Practices Matter in Innovation and Firm Performance Relations? New Evidence from the UK," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 23(5), pages 1016-1061, October.
    50. Piriya Pholphirul & Pungpond Rukumnuaykit, 2017. "Does Immigration always Promote Innovation? Evidence from Thai Manufacturers," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 291-318, February.
    51. Gao, Lan & Liu, Xiaohui & Zou, Huan, 2013. "The role of human mobility in promoting Chinese outward FDI: A neglected factor?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 437-449.
    52. James E. Rauch & Vitor Trindade, 2002. "Ethnic Chinese Networks In International Trade," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 116-130, February.
    53. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abdoh, Hussein & Liu, Yu, 2021. "Does R&D intensity matter in the executive risk incentives and firm risk relationship?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 13-24.
    2. Junbing Xu & Zhongmei Wei & Haitang Yao, 2022. "Can international students help enhance China's urban innovation?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2421-2433, September.
    3. Druzhinin Alexander & Mikhaylov Andrey & Lialina Anna, 2021. "Coastal Regions of Russia: Migration Attractiveness and Innovation Performance," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 40(2), pages 5-18, June.
    4. Cheng, Jie & Huang, Dan & Wu, Yanling, 2023. "Managerial perception on competition and strategic R&D decisions1," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    5. Yan Zhao & Hui Sun & Xuechao Xia & Dianyuan Ma, 2023. "Can R&D Intensity Reduce Carbon Emissions Intensity? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-24, January.
    6. Shen, Guorong, 2022. "AI-enabled talent training for the cross-cultural news communication talent," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ceren Ozgen, 2021. "The economics of diversity: Innovation, productivity and the labour market," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1168-1216, September.
    2. Junbing Xu & Zhongmei Wei & Haitang Yao, 2022. "Can international students help enhance China's urban innovation?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2421-2433, September.
    3. Fornaro, Paolo & Maliranta, Mika & Rouvinen, Petri, 2019. "Immigrant Innovators and Firm Performance," ETLA Working Papers 63, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    4. Fassio, Claudio & Montobbio, Fabio & Venturini, Alessandra, 2019. "Skilled migration and innovation in European industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 706-718.
    5. Crown, Daniel & Faggian, Alessandra & Corcoran, Jonathan, 2020. "Foreign-Born graduates and innovation: Evidence from an Australian skilled visa program✰,✰✰,★,★★," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(9).
    6. Marcus H. Böhme & Sarah Kups, 2017. "The economic effects of labour immigration in developing countries: A literature review," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 335, OECD Publishing.
    7. Nathan, Max, 2013. "The Wider Economic Impacts of High-Skilled Migrants: A Survey of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 7653, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Massimiliano Bratti & Luca De Benedictis & Gianluca Santoni, 2020. "Immigrant entrepreneurs, diasporas, and exports," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 249-272, March.
    9. Massimiliano Bratti & Chiara Conti, 2014. "The Effect of (Mostly Unskilled) Immigration on the Innovation of Italian Regions," ERSA conference papers ersa14p485, European Regional Science Association.
    10. Thomas Kemeny, 2013. "Immigrant Diversity and Economic Development in Cities: A Critical Review," SERC Discussion Papers 0149, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    11. Nathan, Max, 2013. "The Wider Economic Impacts of High-Skilled Migrants: A Survey of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 7653, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Bonin, Holger, 2017. "The Potential Economic Benefits of Education of Migrants in the EU," IZA Research Reports 75, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Crescenzi, Riccardo & Gagliardi, Luisa, 2015. "Moving people with ideas - innovation inter-regional mobility and firm heterogeneity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64509, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Matthias Niggli, 2023. "‘Moving On’—investigating inventors’ ethnic origins using supervised learning," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 921-947.
    15. Matthias Niggli, 2023. "‘Moving On’—investigating inventors’ ethnic origins using supervised learning," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(4), pages 921-947.
    16. Mariachiara Barzotto & Giancarlo Corò & Ilaria Mariotti & Marco Mutinelli, 2019. "Ownership and workforce composition: a counterfactual analysis of foreign multinationals and Italian uni-national firms," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(4), pages 581-607, December.
    17. Brunello, Giorgio & Lodigiani, Elisabetta & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2020. "Does low-skilled immigration increase profits? Evidence from Italian local labour markets," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    18. Bosetti, Valentina & Cattaneo, Cristina & Verdolini, Elena, 2015. "Migration of skilled workers and innovation: A European Perspective," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 311-322.
    19. Alessandra Venturini & Claudio Fassio & Sona Kalantaryan, 2015. "Human Resources and Innovation: Total Factor Productivity and Foreign Human Capital," Discussion Papers 29, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    20. Alessandra Venturini & Claudio Fassio & Fabio Montobbio, 2015. "How do Native and Migrant Workers Contribute to Innovation? A Study on France, Germany and the UK," Discussion Papers 30, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International talent inflow; Manufacturing firms; R&D; Patent application;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:89:y:2020:i:c:p:32-42. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30411 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.