Hunter RS, Oswald AJ, Charlton BG "The Elite Brain Drain" Economic Journal 119(538): F231-F251, June 2009

[Eugene Garfield]

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E-mail: andrew.oswald at warwick.ac.uk

Full text available at :  http://ftp.iza.org/dp4005.pdf


TITLE:          The Elite Brain Drain (Article, English)  

AUTHOR:         Hunter, RS; Oswald, AJ; Charlton, BG    

SOURCE:         ECONOMIC JOURNAL 119 (538). JUN 2009. p.F231-F251
                WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC, MALDEN    

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.    

AUTHOR ADDRESS: RS Hunter, Univ Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, W Midlands,
                England