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The Elite Brain Drain

Author Info

  • Hunter, Rosalind S.

    (University of Warwick)

  • Oswald, Andrew J.

    ()

    (University of Warwick)

  • Charlton, Bruce G.

    ()

    (Newcastle University)

Abstract

We collect data on the movement and productivity of elite scientists. Their mobility is remarkable: nearly half of the world's most-cited physicists work outside their country of birth. We show they migrate systematically towards nations with large R&D spending. Our study cannot adjudicate on whether migration improves scientists' productivity, but we find that movers and stayers have identical h-index citations scores. Immigrants in the UK and US now win Nobel Prizes proportionately less often than earlier. US residents' h-indexes are relatively high. We describe a framework where a key role is played by low mobility costs in the modern world.

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File URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp4005.pdf
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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 4005.

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Length: 40 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2009
Date of revision:
Publication status: published in: Economic Journal, 2009, 119 (538), F231 - F251
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4005
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Keywords: mobility; science; brain drain; citations;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
  • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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Cited by:

  1. Pedro Albarrán & Raquel Carrasco & Javier Ruiz-Castillo, 2014. "The effect of spatial mobility and other factors on academic productivity : some evidence from a set of highly productive economists," Economics Working Papers we1415, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Economía.
  2. Gaulé, Patrick, 2014. "Who comes back and when? Return migration decisions of academic scientists," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 461-464.
  3. Franzoni, Chiara & Scellato, Giuseppe & Stephan, Paula, 2014. "The mover’s advantage: The superior performance of migrant scientists," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 89-93.
  4. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2010. "The Economic Consequences of "Brain Drain" of the Best and Brightest: Microeconomic Evidence from Five Countries," CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1018, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London.
  5. Edler, Jakob & Fier, Heide & Grimpe, Christoph, 2011. "International scientist mobility and the locus of knowledge and technology transfer," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 791-805, July.
  6. Borowiecki, Karol Jan, 2011. "Geographic Clustering and Productivity: An Instrumental Variable Approach for Classical Composers," Annual Conference 2011 (Frankfurt, Main): The Order of the World Economy - Lessons from the Crisis 48738, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
  7. Gibson, John & McKenzie, David, 2014. "Scientific mobility and knowledge networks in high emigration countries: Evidence from the Pacific," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1486-1495.
  8. Constant, Amelie F. & Tien, Bienvenue N., 2009. "Brainy Africans to Fortress Europe: For Money or Colonial Vestiges?," IZA Discussion Papers 4615, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  9. Jürgen Janger & Anna Strauss & David Campbell, 2013. "Academic careers: a cross-country perspective," WWWforEurope Working Papers series 37, WWWforEurope.
  10. Weinberg, Bruce A., 2011. "Developing science: Scientific performance and brain drains in the developing world," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 95-104, May.
  11. Tino Sanandaji, 2014. "The international mobility of billionaires," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 329-338, February.

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