International Mobility of Academics: Brain Drain and Brain Gain

• Author: Paulette Siekierski,Manolita Correia Lima,Felipe Mendes Borini
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12170
• Published date: 01 September 2018
• Date: 01 September 2018

International Mobility of Academics: Brain

Drain and Brain Gain

PAULETTE SIEKIERSKI,MANOLITA CORREIA LIMA and FELIPE MENDES BORINI

PMDGI-ESPM/SP, São Paulo, Brazil

The objective of this research was to investigate which of the followingfactors is most important in the academics

mobility decision:the impact of the science, technology and innovation(ST&I) infrastructure,or the quality of life in

the host country. We considered journals of scientific prestige and research and development (R&D) institutions as

proxiesfor ST&I and the human developmentindex (HDI) as a proxy forquality of life. These data camefrom several

databases. The results of a multiple linear regression show that, although the ST&I infrastructure takes precedence

over quality of life, both are influential factors in academics’mobility decisions. The results offer guidance for

academics in their decisions regarding mobility, as well as offering guidance for government policy-makers with

regard to national investments to address brain drain and brain gain.

Keywords: academics; mobility; internationalization; innovation

Introduction

Over and above the classic resources of labor, capital and

land there is growingrecognition of the importance of the

economic growth of ‘intangibles’, like technology, ideas,

creativity and innovation. In its turn, behind these

intangibles lies ‘human talent’: the inner capacity

individuals have for developing ideas and objects

(software, hardware, vaccines, work or fiction, artistic

activities, etc.) with high economic worth. Interest in the

globalization process has been largely concentrated on

the international mobility of goods, capital, unqualified

workers and technology, but comparativelylittle attention

has been dedicated to the international movement of

highly qualified people, especially the mobility of

academics (Solimano, 2009).

The attraction factors of developed countries relate

mainly to their quality of life, economic wealth and

scientific research capacity, while the attraction factors

of emerging countries are economic growth and job

opportunities. Scientists from the more prosperous

emerging economies, however, are more likely to return

to their country of origin than scientists from less

prosperous emerging economies (Le and Bodman, 2011;

Cheung and Xu, 2015). In view of this, international

collaboration between emerging and developed countries

helps institutions by way of technical training and

technology transfer and can reduce the effects of ‘brain

drain’. The less developed countries must make efforts

to ensure their countries become politically, economically

and socially more attractive so that their citizens can

transform ‘brain drain’into ‘brain gain’,oratleast

minimize the flight of qualified nationals (Dulam and

Franses, 2015; Hussain, 2015). Access to knowledge

networks and the transfer of knowledge can also be

beneficial to the ST&I systems involved in international

mobility and may lead to positive results for the local

scientific community in terms of greater rates of citation

and more publications in journals of scientific prestige

(González-Pereira et al., 2010; Veugelers, 2010; Velema,

2012; Kato and Ando, 2013; Niu, 2014).

According to estimates by UNESCO (2014), in 2012

more than 4 million students and researchers were

enrolled in higher education outside the country of which

they were a citizen. In 2013, six countries played host to

almost half of all international students: USA (19%), the

UK (10%), Australia (6%), France (6%), Germany (5%)

and Russia (3%). While traditional countries of

destination, like the USA and the UK, are still strong

magnets for students who are looking for a high

qualification education, new countries and other regional

centers are competing for a share of the revenue and the

intellectual capital of international students. The first five

countries saw their position decline from 56% in 2000 to

Correspondence: Paulette Siekierski, PMDGI-ESPM/SP, Rua Álvaro

Alvim, 123, 04018-010 Room C402, São Paulo, Brazil, Tel: (11) 5085-

4594. E-maildessi@inwind.it

European Management Review, Vol. 15, 329–339, (2018)

DOI: 10.1111/emre.12170

©2018 European Academy of Management