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Knowledge remittances: Does emigration foster innovation?

Author

Listed:
  • Fackler, Thomas A.
  • Giesing, Yvonne
  • Laurentsyeva, Nadzeya

Abstract

Does the emigration of skilled individuals necessarily result in losses for source countries due to a brain drain? Combining industry-level patenting and migration data from 32 European countries, we show that emigration positively contributes to innovation in source countries and does not increase asymmetries in innovation levels between more and less advanced countries. We use changes in the labour mobility legislation within Europe as exogenous variation to establish causality. In addition, by analysing patent citation data, we provide evidence that these positive effects are driven by knowledge flows triggered by migrants. While skilled migrants are not inventing in their home country anymore, they contribute to cross-border knowledge and technology diffusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Fackler, Thomas A. & Giesing, Yvonne & Laurentsyeva, Nadzeya, 2020. "Knowledge remittances: Does emigration foster innovation?," Munich Reprints in Economics 84758, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:84758
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Panu Poutvaara, 2021. "Population Aging and Migration," CESifo Working Paper Series 9105, CESifo.
    2. Valentina Di Iasio & Ernest Miguelez, 2022. "The ties that bind and transform: knowledge remittances, relatedness and the direction of technical change [Brain drain or brain bank? The impact of skilled emigration on poor-country innovation]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 423-448.
    3. Joop Age Harm Adema & Cevat Giray Aksoy & Panu Poutvaara, 2021. "Mobile Internet Access and the Desire to Emigrate," ifo Working Paper Series 365, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    4. Slivko, Olga, 2018. ""Brain gain" on Wikipedia: Immigrants return knowledge home," ZEW Discussion Papers 18-008, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Chong Lu & Xingyu Qian, 2024. "Unbound hukou and rebound innovation in urban China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Amrita Kulka & Till Nikolka & Panu Poutvaaraifo & Silke Uebelmesser, 2025. "International applicability of education and migration aspirations," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 127-147.
    8. Massimiliano CODA-ZABETTA & Christian CHACUA & Francesco LISSONI & Ernest MIGUELEZ & Julio RAFFO & Deyun YIN, 2021. "The missing link: international migration in global clusters of innovation," Bordeaux Economics Working Papers 2021-02, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE).
    9. Lena Abou El-Komboz & Thomas A. Fackler & Moritz Goldbeck & Thomas Fackler, 2024. "Productivity Spillovers among Knowledge Workers in Agglomerations: Evidence from GitHub," CESifo Working Paper Series 11277, CESifo.
    10. Giesing, Yvonne & Schikora, Felicitas, 2023. "Emigrants’ missing votes," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Guanchun Liu & Yuanyuan Liu & Jinyu Yang & Yanren Zhang, 2024. "Labor Contract Law and inventor mobility: evidence from China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-36, March.
    12. Wenyue Cui & Jie Tang & Shuai Yuan & Xin Dai, 2025. "Innovation Convergence: A System Review," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(3), pages 13349-13392, September.
    13. Chen, Lin & Cheng, Chen, 2023. "Emigration and outward FDI in China: Key role of institutional quality," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    14. World Bank, 2024. "Solomon Islands Country Economic Memorandum," World Bank Publications - Reports 42257, The World Bank Group.
    15. Tang, Chenghui & Qiu, Peng & Dou, Jianmin, 2022. "The impact of borders and distance on knowledge spillovers — Evidence from cross-regional scientific and technological collaboration," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    16. Jacopo Bassetto & Giuseppe Ippedico, 2023. "Can Tax Incentives Bring Brains Back? Returnees Tax Schemes and High-Skilled Migration in Italy," CESifo Working Paper Series 10271, CESifo.
    17. Rammal, Hussain G. & Rose, Elizabeth L. & Ferreira, João J., 2023. "Managing cross-border knowledge transfer for innovation: An introduction to the special issue," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    18. Guan, Chenghua & Xu, Wanting & Yang, Peijin & Xiao, Yao & Rasul, Byann, 2025. "How does large-scale internal migration affect innovation? Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    19. Jitamitra Behera & Akriti Jain & Ruchi Sharma, 2024. "The nexus between labour mobility and innovation: an empirical analysis," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 51(3), pages 551-584, September.
    20. Joseph,George & Wang,Qiao & Chellaraj,Gnanaraj & Tas,Emcet Oktay & Andres,Luis Alberto & Javaid,Syed Usman & Rajan,Irudaya, 2022. "Beyond Money : Does Migration Experience Transfer Gender Norms ? Empirical Evidence from Kerala, India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9966, The World Bank.
    21. Lingxuan Zhang & Xiaomei Lian & Sana Ullah, 2024. "Remittance inflow and its impact on green growth in China: Economic and environmental implications of labor mobility," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(5), pages 2846-2862, August.
    22. Katharina Candel-Haug & Alexander Cuntz & Oliver Falck, 2018. "Immigrants' Contribution to Innovativeness: Evidence from a Non-Selective Immigration Country," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 52, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.
    23. Lena Abou El-Komboz & Thomas Fackler, 2023. "Productivity Spillovers among Knowledge Workers in Agglomerations: Evidence from GitHub," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 399, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    24. Chen, Yaozhi & Wei, Honghong, 2025. "Overseas experience and corporate innovation: Second-generation successors in family enterprises," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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