IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/unumer/2025025.html

Local Gains from Global Minds: The Impact of Collaborating with Foreign-Educated Researchers on Non-Mobile Researchers’ Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Ito, Rodrigo

    (Mt Economic Research Inst on Innov/Techn, RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research)

  • Visentin, Fabiana

    (RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, Mt Economic Research Inst on Innov/Techn)

  • Cowan, Robin

    (RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, Mt Economic Research Inst on Innov/Techn)

  • Chavarro Bohorquez, Diego

    (RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, Mt Economic Research Inst on Innov/Techn)

  • Ciarli, Tommaso

    (Mt Economic Research Inst on Innov/Techn)

Abstract

Foreign-educated researchers who cross national borders for training can play an important role in contributing to research in their country of origin. Relying on a unique dataset of Colombian researchers, our study explores how researchers with Ph.D. training abroad affect the performance of researchers who do not work or study abroad (non-mobile researchers) through direct collaboration. Combining Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Differences estimations, we find that non-mobile researchers who co-author with foreign-educated researchers experience a significant improvement in their research performance. Co-authoring boosts the number of publications, citations, publications in top journals, and the share of publications in English. Interestingly, the extent of these improvements differs across scientific macro fields.

Suggested Citation

  • Ito, Rodrigo & Visentin, Fabiana & Cowan, Robin & Chavarro Bohorquez, Diego & Ciarli, Tommaso, 2025. "Local Gains from Global Minds: The Impact of Collaborating with Foreign-Educated Researchers on Non-Mobile Researchers’ Performance," MERIT Working Papers 2025-025, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2025025
    DOI: 10.53330/TMWR8460
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ws/files/281993211/wp2025-025.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.53330/TMWR8460?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Scellato, Giuseppe & Franzoni, Chiara & Stephan, Paula, 2015. "Migrant scientists and international networks," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 108-120.
    2. Katz, J. Sylvan & Martin, Ben R., 1997. "What is research collaboration?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Koen Jonkers & Robert Tijssen, 2008. "Chinese researchers returning home: Impacts of international mobility on research collaboration and scientific productivity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 77(2), pages 309-333, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Marine Bernard & Bastien Bernela & Marie Ferru, 2021. "Does the geographical mobility of scientists shape their collaboration network? A panel approach of chemists’ careers," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(1), pages 79-99, February.
    2. A. Fernández & E. Ferrándiz & M. D. León, 2016. "Proximity dimensions and scientific collaboration among academic institutions in Europe: The closer, the better?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(3), pages 1073-1092, March.
    3. Ekaterina L. Dyachenko, 2016. "Internal Migration of Scientists in Russia and the USA: The Case of Applied Physics," HSE Working papers WP BRP 58/STI/2016, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    4. Mohammadi, Ali & Broström, Anders & Franzoni, Chiara, 2015. "Work Force Composition and Innovation: How Diversity in Employees’ Ethnical and Disciplinary Backgrounds Facilitates Knowledge Re-combination," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 413, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    5. Xia Fan & Xiaowan Yang & Liming Chen, 2015. "Diversified resources and academic influence: patterns of university–industry collaboration in Chinese research-oriented universities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(2), pages 489-509, August.
    6. Thomas Bolli & Jörg Schläpfer, 2015. "Job mobility, peer effects, and research productivity in economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(3), pages 629-650, September.
    7. Liu, Meijun & Hu, Xiao, 2021. "Will collaborators make scientists move? A Generalized Propensity Score analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
    8. Moxin Li & Yang Wang, 2024. "Influence of political tensions on scientific productivity, citation impact, and knowledge combinations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(4), pages 2337-2370, April.
    9. Li, Feng & Miao, Yajun & Yang, Chenchen, 2015. "How do alumni faculty behave in research collaboration? An analysis of Chang Jiang Scholars in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 438-450.
    10. Michael Cary & Taylor Rockwell, 2020. "International Collaboration in Open Access Publications: How Income Shapes International Collaboration," Publications, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-24, February.
    11. Graf, Holger & Kalthaus, Martin, 2018. "International research networks: Determinants of country embeddedness," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(7), pages 1198-1214.
    12. JongWuk Ahn & Hyundo Choi & Dong-hyun Oh, 2019. "Leveraging bridging universities to access international knowledge: Korean universities’ R&D internationalization," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(2), pages 519-537, August.
    13. Minsoo Choi & Heejin Lee & Hanah Zoo, 2021. "Scientific knowledge production and research collaboration between Australia and South Korea: patterns and dynamics based on co-authorship," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(1), pages 683-706, January.
    14. Massimo Aria & Michelangelo Misuraca & Maria Spano, 2020. "Mapping the Evolution of Social Research and Data Science on 30 Years of Social Indicators Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 803-831, June.
    15. Scellato, Giuseppe & Franzoni, Chiara & Stephan, Paula, 2015. "Migrant scientists and international networks," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 108-120.
    16. Thomas Zacharewicz & Luis Sanz Menendez & Koen Jonkers, 2017. "The Internationalisation of Research and Technology Organisations," JRC Research Reports JRC105499, Joint Research Centre.
    17. Uhlbach, Wolf-Hendrik & Tartari, Valentina & Kongsted, Hans Christian, 2022. "Beyond scientific excellence: International mobility and the entrepreneurial activities of academic scientists," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).
    18. Jonkers, Koen & Cruz-Castro, Laura, 2013. "Research upon return: The effect of international mobility on scientific ties, production and impact," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1366-1377.
    19. Han, Fang & Zhang, Ruhao & Zhang, Shengtai & Yuan, Junpeng, 2024. "International mobility characteristics, effects of, and effects on elite scientists," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1).
    20. Liu, Meijun & Hu, Xiao, 2022. "Movers’ advantages: The effect of mobility on scientists’ productivity and collaboration," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:unm:unumer:2025025. 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: Ad Notten The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Ad Notten to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/meritnl.html .

    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.