Global Mobility Of Research Scientists

Global Mobility of Research Scientists: The Economics of Who Goes Where and Why brings together information on how the localization and mobility of academic researchers contributes to the production of knowledge. The text answers several questions, including "what characterizes nationally and internationally mobile researchers?" and "what are the individual and social implications of increased mobility of research scientists?" Eight independent, but coordinated chapters address these and other questions, drawing on a set of newly developed databases covering 30 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and China, among others. Combines theoretically sound and empirically fascinating results in one volume that has international and interdisciplinary appeal. Covers topics at the forefront of academic, business, and policy discussions Data used in the chapters available at a freely-accessible website

Alongside flows of trade and capital, the free movement of professionals, technical personnel, and students is seen as a key aspect of globalization. Yet not much detailed empirical research has been completed about the trajectories and experiences of these highly skilled or highly educated international migrants. What little is known about these forms of "global mobility," and the politics that surround them, contrasts with the abundant theories and accounts of other types of international migration--such as low income economic migration from less developed to core countries in the international political economy. Drawing on the work of a long-standing discussion group at the Center for Comparative and Global Research of UCLA's International Institute, this collection bridges conventional methodological divides, bringing together political scientists, sociologists, demographers, and ethnographers. It explores the reality behind assumptions about these new global migration trends. It challenges widely held views about the elite characteristics of these migrants, the costs and consequences of the brain drain said to follow from the migration of skilled workers, the determinants of national policies on high skilled migrants, and the presumed "effortlessness" of professional mobility in an integrating world. The volume also sheds new light on international student migration, the politics of temporary, non-immigrant workers in the United States, new international forms of regulating movement, and the realities of the everyday lives of multinational employees in the world's transnational cities. Key differences between the regional contexts of this migration in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific are also emphasized.

Entrepreneurs, technical experts, professionals, international students, writers, and artists are among the most highly mobile people in the global economy today. These talented elite often originate from developing countries and migrate to industrial economies. Many return home with new ideas, experiences, and capital useful for national development, whilst others remain to produce quality goods and services that are useful everywhere in the global economy. The economic potential of globalization is ultimately dependent on the international mobility of highly talented individuals that transfer knowledge, new technologies, ideas, business capacities, and other creative capabilities. Developing countries and advanced economies may both gain from this mobility if it is effectively and smartly managed. This volume, with original contributions from outstanding international experts in the subject, provides a novel analysis of the main determinants and development impact of talent mobility in the global economy.

The book can be seen as a welcomed contribution to this field of study. . . [it] raises some important questions and problems of scientific mobility. Høgni Kalsø Hansen, Papers in Regional Science This is a very timely book looking at East West migration, which has recently become a hot political issue in various West European countries. It does an excellent job in laying out the intricacies of mobility that affect different groups, particularly knowledge migrants . The book successfully shows that knowledge migrants follow different motivational routes than other groups of migrants in their choice of mobility between institutes and nations. It makes a valuable contribution to a growing body of research that seeks to change established thinking and rhetoric about migration and to shift it from a dualistic thinking of migration in terms of economic vs. non-economic migrants. What this book shows is that the professional identity of people often supersedes their nationalities in relation to why and where they move. Sami Mahroum, NESTA, UK Based on excellent empirical research on migrating scientists from Poland and Bulgaria to the UK and Germany, this book follows an innovative agenda which is crucial to the world today the movement of people and the movement of knowledge. It achieves this by a creative blend of analysing personal stories, embedded in their professional and family networks, on the one hand, and macro-scale discussions of brain drain, brain gain and national and European policy implications on the other. Russell King, University of Sussex, UK This book makes a timely contribution to understanding the circulation of scientific knowledge via international mobility. It skillfully combines an analysis of structural and institutional changes, with a focus on individual circumstances, life courses and motivations. The outcome is a compelling account of the role of international migration in the transfer of knowledge across borders, and in shaping the careers of individual scientists. This places people and human mobility at the heart of the debate about how the knowledge economy is produced and reproduced. Allan Williams, London Metropolitan University, UK Moving People and Knowledge provides a fresh examination of the processes of highly skilled science migration. Focusing on intra-European mobility and, in particular, on the new dynamics of East West migration, the authors investigate the movement of Polish and Bulgarian researchers to and from the UK and Germany. Key questions include: who is moving, how long for, and why? In addressing the motivations and experiences of mobile scientists and their families, insights into professional and personal motivations are provided, demonstrating how relationships, networks and infrastructures shape decision-making. This book provides a useful perspective on the implications of increasing researcher mobility for both sending and receiving regions and the individuals concerned which is necessary for the construction of future policies on sustainable scientific development. This empirical account provides a nuanced analysis of the duration and flow of scientific mobility showing the prevalence of repeat and shuttle moves in science careers. It will be of particular interest to researchers in European social policy, migration studies and EU law, as well as policymakers in the field of highly skilled migration especially those working on the free movement of persons provisions and the European Research Area and European Area of Higher Education.

China’s rise is having a large impact on the global science system. The internalisation of this system in the past two decades would not have been possible without the outbound and especially the return flows of overseas Chinese scientists. This book explores their impact combining macro-level institutional and statistical analysis with an account of how the research culture has changed at the operational level. The theoretical framework used departs from the human capital approach, by building on literature from migration studies and evolutionary theories of the science system. It presents the results of an innovative mix of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. Overseas Chinese scientists and returnees are shown to have played an important role in shaping the internal development of the Chinese research system, as well as its relationship with research systems in Western Europe and North America. Now that the situation is improving, return has become an increasingly interesting option for expatriate researchers. This development may result in a virtuous cycle. Based on extensive and original empirical research Mobility, Migration and the Chinese Scientific Research System will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students of research systems in general and the Chinese research and innovation system in particular.

In early 2012, the global scientific community erupted with news that the elusive Higgs boson had likely been found, providing potent validation for the Standard Model of how the universe works. Scientists from more than one hundred countries contributed to this discovery—proving, beyond any doubt, that a new era in science had arrived, an era of multinationalism and cooperative reach. Globalization, the Internet, and digital technology all play a role in making this new era possible, but something more fundamental is also at work. In all scientific endeavors lies the ancient drive for sharing ideas and knowledge, and now this can be accomplished in a single tongue— English. But is this a good thing? In Does Science Need a Global Language?, Scott L. Montgomery seeks to answer this question by investigating the phenomenon of global English in science, how and why it came about, the forms in which it appears, what advantages and disadvantages it brings, and what its future might be. He also examines the consequences of a global tongue, considering especially emerging and developing nations, where research is still at a relatively early stage and English is not yet firmly established. Throughout the book, he includes important insights from a broad range of perspectives in linguistics, history, education, geopolitics, and more. Each chapter includes striking and revealing anecdotes from the front-line experiences of today’s scientists, some of whom have struggled with the reality of global scientific English. He explores topics such as student mobility, publication trends, world Englishes, language endangerment, and second language learning, among many others. What he uncovers will challenge readers to rethink their assumptions about the direction of contemporary science, as well as its future.

In early 2012, the global scientific community erupted with news that the elusive Higgs boson had likely been found, providing potent validation for the Standard Model of how the universe works. Scientists from more than one hundred countries contributed to this discovery—proving, beyond any doubt, that a new era in science had arrived, an era of multinationalism and cooperative reach. Globalization, the Internet, and digital technology all play a role in making this new era possible, but something more fundamental is also at work. In all scientific endeavors lies the ancient drive for sharing ideas and knowledge, and now this can be accomplished in a single tongue— English. But is this a good thing? In Does Science Need a Global Language?, Scott L. Montgomery seeks to answer this question by investigating the phenomenon of global English in science, how and why it came about, the forms in which it appears, what advantages and disadvantages it brings, and what its future might be. He also examines the consequences of a global tongue, considering especially emerging and developing nations, where research is still at a relatively early stage and English is not yet firmly established. Throughout the book, he includes important insights from a broad range of perspectives in linguistics, history, education, geopolitics, and more. Each chapter includes striking and revealing anecdotes from the front-line experiences of today’s scientists, some of whom have struggled with the reality of global scientific English. He explores topics such as student mobility, publication trends, world Englishes, language endangerment, and second language learning, among many others. What he uncovers will challenge readers to rethink their assumptions about the direction of contemporary science, as well as its future.