Flows of human capital in the Nordic countries 1988-1998

This is the summary report from the project “Flows of human capital in the Nordic countries”. It draws on three project reports and two papers, where further details can be found. It displays selected statistical information for the period 1988-98 about • Nordic migration – win-win or win-lose in flows of human capital • mobility between jobs in the Nordic countries – benchmarks and stylised facts for flows of human capital, broken down over demographic and economic indicators • mobility of researchers in these countries, with emphasis on the outflow of science and engineering personnel from the research producing sector to industry and services. These statistics are of interest because mobility is a ubiquitous yet under-researched mechanism of competence flow in the national innovation systems. Innovation policy will become more effective if these mechanisms are better understood. Working with register data as here (as opposed to surveys with smaller samples) gives major advantages but also some challenges that are addressed. These first comprehensive detailed human capital statistics of mobility in the Nordic countries are the output of a Nordic project which uses comprehensive national matched employee – employer register datasets. The project is jointly undertaken by STEP, The Danish Institute for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Statistics Finland, Statistics Iceland, and Vinnova.